American Movie Palaces

by Rolf Achilles

Beginning with the Nickelodeons and penny arcades in the 1890s, the American movie theater evolved as films did, in sophistication and mass appeal, reaching new heights in architecture, décor and glamour by the 1920s and 30s. This book is the story of the American Movie Palace and how the emergence of great films and cinema stars and the experience of movie-going itself led to the wildly imaginative fantasy styles recalling Egyptian temples, Chinese pagodas and Italian villages.  The book identifies the main styles of decoration and gives fascinating detail on the brilliant and daring architects and designers who built them. In an era when film exposed millions of Americans, for the first time, to a vast fantasy land of new and heightened emotions brought on by thrilling action and adventure and romance beyond their wildest dreams, movie theaters of the Golden Age of film were, indeed, awe-inspiring palaces which set the stage and were a perfect reflection for something very special that was about to happen on screen.

64 pages, Paperback

First published October 22, 2013