Theaters

Road Trip 2013 Day 7

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Stage, Paramount Theatre Marshall, Texas

View of the stage from the main level.

The last stop of the trip was the Paramount Theatre in Marshall, Texas. The Paramount opened in 1930, and has had a number of different uses over the years. After it closed as a theater, it was used as a western themed dinner theater, and then a recording studio. The building is currently for sale.

 

© Matthew Lambros and After the Final Curtain, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Matthew Lambros and After the Final Curtain with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Road Trip 2013 Day 6

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View from the balcony of the Berry Theatre.

View from the balcony of the Berry Theatre.

After making a quick stop at the Dallas Fort Worth Airport to drop off some of my road trip companions, I headed over to the Berry Theatre in Fort Worth. The theater opened as the White Theatre in the early 1940s, and was eventually renamed the Berry Theatre after the street in resides on.

 

 

© Matthew Lambros and After the Final Curtain, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Matthew Lambros and After the Final Curtain with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Road Trip 2013 Day 5

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View of the auditorium from the balcony.

View of the auditorium from the balcony.

The next stop on the trip was the Okla Theatre in McAlester, Oklahoma. The Okla opened on July 10, 1931 and closed on September 4, 1989. The city of McAlester is currently trying to restore and reopen the theater. For more information check out their website: http://www.oklatheater.com/

 

© Matthew Lambros and After the Final Curtain, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Matthew Lambros and After the Final Curtain with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Road Trip 2013 Day 2

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Lyric Theatre Birmingham, AL.

Lyric Theatre Birmingham, AL.

Day two was spent photographing the Lyric Theatre in Birmingham, Alabama. The Lyric opened in 1914 as a vaudeville theater, and was eventually converted to show films. More information can be found at http://lightupthelyric.com/

 

© Matthew Lambros and After the Final Curtain, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Matthew Lambros and After the Final Curtain with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Shapshot: Liberty Theatre

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Introducing: the Snapshot Series  – Occasionally in my travels I come across a theater that I can’t find a lot of information on, or that I only have a chance to photograph for an hour or two. They’re still beautiful and fascinating, so they definitely have a place on After the Final Curtain.

View from the back of the auditorium.

View from the back of the auditorium.

The Liberty Theatre opened in 1922 in Dorchester, MA. It was operated by New England Theatres and showed primarily silent films. The 898-seat theater was in poor shape by 1941 and was later sold to ATC Theatres. In 1949, the Liberty was remodeled and reopened as an art house theater, but ended up closing in the 1950s. It was used as a household appliance warehouse in the 1960’s and later as a church until 1977, when it was converted to a warehouse for storage.

The lobby of the Liberty Theatre.

The lobby of the Liberty Theatre.

The Liberty Theatre was demolished in early 2013.

A lot of the original decor survived the theater's transformations over the years.

Much of the theater had been demolished before I had the chance to photograph it.

A close up of the proscenium arch.

A close up of the proscenium arch.

A close up of some of the remaining plasterwork in the lobby.

A close up of some of the remaining plasterwork in the lobby.

Liberty_Theatre_04

 

© Matthew Lambros and After the Final Curtain, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Matthew Lambros and After the Final Curtain with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

The Michigan Theatre

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The theater's proscenium arch.

The theater’s proscenium arch.

Built on the site of Henry Ford’s first garage, the Michigan Theatre opened on August 23, 1926 in Detroit, Michigan. The 4,038 seat theater was designed by Chicago-based theater architecture firm Rapp & Rapp (also known for the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn) for the Balaban and Katz Theatre Corporation.

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Eastown Theatre

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The Eastown is one of the 22 theaters in my new book “After the Final Curtain: The Fall of the American Movie Theater.” Find out more here.

View of the auditorium from the balcony.

View of the auditorium from the balcony.

The Eastown Theatre opened on October 1, 1931 in Detroit, Michigan. It was built by the architectural firm of V.J. Waiver and Company for the Wisper and Westman Theatre chain. Designed in a Baroque architectural style, the 2,500 seat theater was built for motion pictures and did not have live performances until much later. Most movie palace openings were a grand event, and the Eastown was no exception. Newspaper ads proclaimed the opening to be, “the most glorious event in the history of east Detroit.” The opening film was Clark Gable’s first starring role “Sporting Blood.”

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Fabian Theatre

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View of the balcony auditorium after multiplexing.

View of the balcony auditorium after multiplexing.

The Fabian Theatre opened on December 14, 1925 in Paterson, New Jersey. Designed by Paterson architect Fred Wesley Wentworth for theater magnate Jacob Fabian, the 3,228 seat theater was built in a Sullivanesque style with a two ton chandelier, tile floors, murals, and Turkish baths in the basement.

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The National Theatre

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Balcony level, National Theatre Detroit, MI

View of the auditorium from the balcony.

The National Theatre opened on September 16, 1911 in Detroit, Michigan. Designed by Detroit architect Albert Kahn (who designed so many buildings in Detroit that he was nicknamed, “the architect of Detroit”), the National is noted as his only theater and is the oldest surviving building from the city’s original theater district. Built in the Art Nouveau style, the exterior of the building is covered with terra cotta from Pewabic Pottery, another Detroit landmark.

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Madison Theatre

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Madison theater balcony view

View of the auditorium from the balcony.

The Madison Theatre opened on October 16, 1920 in Peoria, Illinois. It was built by architect Frederic J. Klein (known for Rockford, Illinois’ Coronado Theatre) for the Robinson Amusement Company. The 1,739 seat theater was originally designed in the Adamesque style and was remodeled in 1936 in the simpler art deco style to ease the maintenance of the building.

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