What is SoWal's knowledge of great theaters in America?

Beacon Theatre
Sheridan Opera House
Ryman Auditorium
Wheeler Auditorium
Saenger Theatre Mobile
Saenger Theatre Pensacola

i'm sure many more will be offered

We have two! The first pic is the Palace Theater. Sam always had her big dance recitals here every year. The last one is The Ohio Theatre...more elegant and mesmerizing. We will be there Aug 31 to see The Lion King!

The Tivoli in Chattanooga. A lot smaller than The Fox but the same ambience...

It's haunted, it's over-the-top, it's stunning, it's the Tampa Theatre! It belongs near the top of any list of the country's great theaters. Fortunately, it is also government subsidized, or it would have been torn down long ago.





More information at:

http://www.tampatheatre.org/history.php

The Fox Theater in St. Louis is one of those grand old theaters, and looks surprisingly similar to the one in Atlanta, from the pictures on your link...even the sign! i wonder if they were built by the same people...

Pittsburgh has four of note:

Benedum Center for the Performing Arts: http://www.pittsburghsymphony.org/pghsymph.nsf/web/grandlobby.html

Bynham Theater

Carnegie Music Hall

Heinz Hall

Thanks NoHall for starting this thread, we love our theater and I would love to visit some of these others. They are all fantastic.

We have a wonderful one, the Orpheum on Beale Street, orginially built in 1890. When it was converted to the Malco theater, Elvis was an usher there.

Here is more info and photos, and we too have a ghost.

http://www.orpheum-memphis.com/index.cfm?section=theatreinfo

The Orpheum Theater: Where Broadway Meets Beale: "Wicked" comes this Fall, I can't wait.

John Eberson, one of the great theater architects, designed many across the country in conjunction with Paramount and others. (Including the Tampa Theatre and -- hi OL -- the Palace.)

[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Eberson[/ame]

Beacon Theatre
Sheridan Opera House
Ryman Auditorium
Wheeler Auditorium
Saenger Theatre Mobile
Saenger Theatre Pensacola

i'm sure many more will be offered

Links and everything...thanks!

We have two! The first pic is the Palace Theater. Sam always had her big dance recitals here every year. The last one is The Ohio Theatre...more elegant and mesmerizing. We will be there Aug 31 to see The Lion King!

That ceiling...wow...

It's haunted, it's over-the-top, it's stunning, it's the Tampa Theatre! It belongs near the top of any list of the country's great theaters. Fortunately, it is also government subsidized, or it would have been torn down long ago.





More information at:

http://www.tampatheatre.org/history.php

All good theaters are haunted, I think. If I ever decide to haunt a place, y'all have given me a good list of places. (But I plan to spend my afterlife in a place with no election years.)

The Fox was almost razed when I was little. Atlanta Landmarks was created for the sole purpose of saving it. I remember my parents and even my brother saying they had been to events at the Fox before the mid '80s and that it was a rat-hole--my brother said the walls were so covered in dirt and soot (from the heating system and, supposedly, all the years of smokers) that the original colors were barely visible...

The Fox Theater in St. Louis is one of those grand old theaters, and looks surprisingly similar to the one in Atlanta, from the pictures on your link...even the sign! i wonder if they were built by the same people...

I saw that St. Louis had a Fox, and wondered the same thing, but haven't gotten around to investigating...

Thanks NoHall for starting this thread, we love our theater and I would love to visit some of these others. They are all fantastic.

We have a wonderful one, the Orpheum on Beale Street, orginially built in 1890. When it was converted to the Malco theater, Elvis was an usher there.

Here is more info and photos, and we too have a ghost.

http://www.orpheum-memphis.com/index.cfm?section=theatreinfo

The Orpheum Theater: Where Broadway Meets Beale: "Wicked" comes this Fall, I can't wait.

Y'all have all made my day. I figured the Fox wasn't alone in its beauty, but I wasn't sure.

When you look at old theaters and churches, why do you think we have fallen away from the splendor? Money? Laziness? Are we just tacky now?

Many of these theaters appeared to have been built in the roaring '20s, that most tacky and splendiferous and spectacular spending era. So I think what we see as stunning now was way over the top and ego-driven back then.

On a smaller scale, it kinda reminds me of the stainless steel and granite countertops of the housing boom. Soon to be 'tacky,' probably, but maybe eventually they will be 'historic!'

The Fox Theater in St. Louis is one of those grand old theaters, and looks surprisingly similar to the one in Atlanta, from the pictures on your link...even the sign! i wonder if they were built by the same people...

I just looked it up...William Fox had a BUNCH of them! The ones in Atlanta, St. Louis, and San Francisco opened the same year. (1929) I can't find it in black and white, but I'm led to believe that it's the same Fox family as 20th Century Fox...they were opened as movie palaces.

Here are the others, from our friend Wikipedia:
List of Fox Theatres

See the following articles for information about specific theatres.

• Atlanta, Georgia -- Opened 1929
• Aurora, Illinois --Opened 1935
• Bakersfield, California -- Opened 1930
• Banning, California -- Currently open with 3 screens
• Boulder, Colorado -- Opened 1926 as the Rialto Theatre
• Detroit, Michigan -- Opened 1928
• Fullerton, California -- Opened 1925
• Green Bay, Wisconsin -- opened [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_14"]February 14[/ame], 1930
• Hanford, California -- Opened 1929 and is currently used for live concerts, restoration is ongoing [1]
• Hutchinson, Kansas -- Opened 1931
• Joplin, Missouri -- Opened as Electric Theatre, recently converted to a church
• Oakland, California -- Opened 1928
• Paso Robles, California -- Opening and closing dates unknown, still standing but abandoned
• [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomona_Fox_Theater"]Pomona, California[/ame] -- Opened 1931
• [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_Tower"]Portland, Oregon[/ame] -- Opened 1911
• Redlands, California -- Opened 1928
• Redwood City, California --Opened in 1929, remodeled in the 1950s, put on national register of historical places in 1993 [2]
• San Bernardino, California -- Opened 1929
• San Francisco, California -- Opened 1929
• [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlington_Theater"]Santa Barbara, California[/ame] -- Opened 1930
• Seattle, Washington -- Opened 1929, renamed Roxy in 1933
• Spokane, Washington -- Opened 1931
• St. Louis, Missouri -- Opened 1929
• Stockton, California -- Opened 1930
• Toronto, Ontario, Canada -- Opened 1914
• Tucson, Arizona -- Opened 1930
• Visalia, California -- Opened 1930

like the Fox, many Orpheums

http://www.orpheum-theater.com/?gclid=CJqg4PDu6pQCFQKfnAodGW6BRA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orpheum_Theater_(New_Orleans)
a favorite of mine.

I believe I saw "Hair" at the Palace in Columbus in 1973ish. It was such the scandal at the time.

like the Fox, many Orpheums

http://www.orpheum-theater.com/?gclid=CJqg4PDu6pQCFQKfnAodGW6BRA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orpheum_Theater_(New_Orleans)
a favorite of mine.

Thanks JohnR, I did not realize that there were others. This is has been a very interesting thread.

I would love to visit some of the other theaters.

When you look at old theaters and churches, why do you think we have fallen away from the splendor? Money? Laziness? Are we just tacky now?

Good question NoHall, I don't know it's everything has changed and not for the better. People used to be quiet in movie theaters, now we have to have several messages before the movie begins to remind everyone to behave.

And don't even get be started on how people behave on airplanes. Am I dating myself when I say, I remember getting dressed up to fly.

I do know that one bank here in Memphis chose the grandeur when they build it. My niece is having her wedding reception there in a week. It is a beautiful building.

Louisville Palace - look at the virtual tours on the website. It is just as fun to poke around the place as it is to see a show!

http://www.louisvillepalace.com/

Louisville Palace - look at the virtual tours on the website. It is just as fun to poke around the place as it is to see a show!

http://www.louisvillepalace.com/

We had to wander all over the place at the Fox last night, too...

I noticed that the Louisville Palace was one of Eberson's creations, too. Beautiful...

Wow, these theatres are beautiful. TFT, I am going to have to make a road trip to Tampa- ladies night out.That theatre is pretty cool and definitely over the top.

One of my favorite theatres is The New Amsterdam Theatre in New York. I've been to see Beauty and the Beast several times just to see this theatre. It is quite ornate and this picture doesn't do justice to the detail. The Beast is ok too. I read that it was renovated by Disney.

The ceiling is more beautiful live.
The New Amsterdam is among Broadway's oldest surviving legitimate theaters. Commissioned in 1902 by theater moguls Marc Klaw and Abraham Erlanger and designed by architects Henry B. Herts and Hugh Tallant, this landmark space boasts a beaux-arts entrance and a magnificent art nouveau interior of painted plaster, carved stone, fine wood, murals and tiles.

Wow, these theatres are beautiful. TFT, I am going to have to make a road trip to Tampa- ladies night out.That theatre is pretty cool and definitely over the top.

One of my favorite theatres is The New Amsterdam Theatre in New York. I've been to see Beauty and the Beast several times just to see this theatre. It is quite ornate and this picture doesn't do justice to the detail. The Beast is ok too. I read that it was renovated by Disney.

The ceiling is more beautiful live.

I would love to see some Disney there!

Beautiful!!!

In my next life, I want to be an architect.

I would love to see some Disney there!

Beautiful!!!

In my next life, I want to be an architect.

This is one of those theatres where sitting further back and higher up is not a bad thing. if you are blind, like me, you can see the ceiling better and take in the whole place from up there. Plus, the salt and pepper shaker actors won't be insulted when they see you go into a hysterical fit of laughter. Sorry, DKA.

I thought of the New Amsterdam when I read this thread, thanks for sharing the photo, Mango.

It is definitely one of the finest. When Disney decided to go to Broadway they wanted their own theater to showcase their product.

I am glad they renovated this one, it is definitely a keeper.

Funny you should bring this up today! Your ff, fff and others are going to The Alabama Theatre Saturday night to see "Grease" the movie. Remember, a bunch of us went here for the Halloween showing of "Rocky Horror Picture Show" last year. I used to go to this theatre when I was little and thought it was the most grand thing I had ever seen.

Alabama Theatre, take a tour around...

http://s84.photobucket.com/albums/k35/jhanks6349/?action=view&current=b00fbdd0.pbw

Funny you should bring this up today! Your ff, fff and others are going to The Alabama Theatre Saturday night to see "Grease" the movie. Remember, a bunch of us went here for the Halloween showing of "Rocky Horror Picture Show" last year. I used to go to this theatre when I was little and thought it was the most grand thing I had ever seen.

Alabama Theatre, take a tour around...

http://s84.photobucket.com/albums/k35/jhanks6349/?action=view&current=b00fbdd0.pbw

I keep going back to everyone's pictures...so gorgeous!

I love the domed ceilings over the main seating areas.

I love the domed ceilings over the main seating areas.

Not just for beauty---they are acoustical structures. Cool, huh? (Seriously--in the 9th grade I wanted to go to Tech and eventually be an acoustical architect.)