The intersection of 79th Street and Ashland Avenue became a major streetcar transfer point during the early years of the 20th century, and a variety of business establishments soon followed. By 1928 the northeast corner was the site of the 2,000-seat Highland Theater, immortalized in the classic book Forty-four Cities in the City of Chicago.
Though public transit is less important today, 79th-Ashland remains a thriving commercial center, with a few of the older buildings replaced by more modern construction. The Highland Theater closed during the 1980s, and its auditorium is now a church.
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Chicago History Today 
Great post. The iron mounting hardware for the massive Highland Theatre sign still remains on the roof of its old building, and the mounting points where the sign was fixed vertically to the building are still visible as well.