Atmospheric theater

An atmospheric theatre is a type of movie palace that was popular in the 1920s in America. "Rather than seating the theatre patrons in a boxlike, formal setting as passive observers of stage entertainment, the atmospheric design transported them to an exotic European courtyard or garden. A plain cerulean sky replaced the ornate dome of traditional theatre design. Wispy floating clouds produced by a projector replaced crystal chandeliers and gilt. Trees, plants, vines and taxidermy birds replaced gold leaf. Arches, trellises, balconies and plaster statuary replaced marble, painted wood panels and crystal chandeliers. As the entertainment was about to begin, lighting effects created the illusion of a setting sun, as colors changed from yellow to red to mauve. Small lights, arranged in the ceiling in constellation patterns, twinkled to create a sense of infinite space. The atmospheric theatre design made the theatre patron an active, comfortable resident of an imaginary time and place, not a passive, aloof occupant of an oppressive formal space."

The extravagantly designed theaters of the early twentieth century were expensive to build. These classically designed theaters required an elaborate auditorium ceiling, usually with one or more grand chandeliers. An atmospheric theater only required a simple, smooth dome with low-wattage lights to simulate twinkling stars. This is not to say atmospheric theaters were always simple in design. The side walls of the theaters often featured very complex elements that created a fantasy outdoor setting like being in a village, garden, or on the grounds of a grand palace.

The most successful promoter of the style was John Eberson. He credited the Hoblitzelle Majestic Theatre (Houston, 1923) as the first. Before the end of the 1920s he designed around 100 atmospheric theatres in the U.S. and a few other countries, personally selecting the furnishings and art objects.

John Eberson was the most successful promoter and designer of the atmospheric style. Sixteen of his atmospheric theatres in the United States are still in operation:

Moorish Revival

The theater was built in 1929 by Marcus Loew and designed by theater architect John Eberson. It opened as Loew's Theatre and seats 5,000 people. The auditorium is designed to resemble a night in a Moorish garden. Twinkling stars and drifting clouds travel across the domed ceiling. Located on Akron’s South Main Street, the theater’s entrance lobby extends over the Ohio and Erie Canal. The theater has a small multicolored terra cotta façade dominated by a large marquee. The interior of the entrance and lobby is designed to resemble a Moorish castle with Mediterranean decor, complete with medieval style carvings, authentic European antiques and Italian alabaster sculptures. A grand full-sized Wurlitzer organ hidden beneath the stage rises to the stage level on a special elevator. The theater closed for comprehensive restoration and expansion in 2001 and reopened in 2002.

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