The Embassy 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 side of the balcony.
The Embassy Theatre opened August 12, 1926 in Port Chester, NY. Designed by prominent theater architect Thomas W. Lamb, the 1,591 seat theater was built on the grounds of an old Elk Lodge. Lamb also designed the nearby Capitol Theatre, which opened just a few days after the Embassy.
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.
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.
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.
The chandelier was removed when the theater was used as a church.
The fourth theater I visited was the Booth Theatre in Independence, Kansas. The Booth opened in 1927 and closed in 1980. It was used as a church for a few years before closing for good. In 1991 the Booth Theatre Foundation was started to renovate and reuse the theater. For more information on the Booth Theatre foundation visit their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Booth-Theatre-Independence-KS/193393179833
© 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.
View of the Jayhawk Theatre from the balcony.
The next theater I visited was the Jayhawk Theatre in Topeka, Kansas. The Jayhawk opened in August of 1926, and has been closed since May 1976. For more information visit the website of the organization trying to restore the theater: http://jayhawktheatre.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.
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.
Hi everyone – I’m on another trip photographing some of America’s abandoned theaters. Keep an eye out on the blog for updates over the next week.
© 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.
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.
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 Liberty Theatre was demolished in early 2013.
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 some of the remaining plasterwork in the lobby.
© 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 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.
After the Final Curtain 