View from the balcony of the New Regal Theatre.
I spent most of my second day in Chicago photographing the New Regal Theatre. This John Eberson designed theater opened in 1927 as the Avalon Theatre. It is said to be inspired by a Persian lamp Eberson found at an antiques market. The Regal closed in 2010 .
The ceiling decoration is called the largest flying carpet in the world.
The lobby of the Ramova Theatre.
I’m currently on a road trip to photograph some more abandoned theaters. Day 1 was spent revisiting the Ramova Theatre in Chicago.
The Ramova Theatre opened on August 21, 1929, and closed in the mid 1980s.
The main level of the Lawndale Theatre.
When the Lawndale Theater of North Lawndale, IL closed permanently in the early 2000s, it had been in use primarily as a church. This end to the theater very much resembles its beginning — after a series of architectural control changes, it is generally believed that the design responsibilities finally fell to William P. Whitney, a local architect known mostly for designing churches. However, there is no hard evidence for Whitney’s involvement in the project. The Lawndale’s resemblance to Whitney’s Symphony Theater in Chicago suggests his influence on the Lawndale’s design.
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After the Final Curtain 