[sotd] February 10, 2004 [American Picture Palaces]
- From: "The Site of the Day" <sotd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: sotd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2004 10:08:09 -0400
Site of the Day for Tuesday, February 10, 2004
Some Enchanted Evenings: American Picture Palaces
From the University of Virginia's American Studies program comes this
informative presentation on the history of the opulent 'picture palaces' in
the U.S. from their inception in the early twentieth century to their
decline in the 1940's. Gentle Subscribers will discover an absorbing series
of essays covering the heyday of these fabulously palatial movie theatres.
"Each week from the 1910s through the 1940s, Americans 'went to the show'
in record numbers. 'The show' drew peak crowds three to four times daily
with an extra screening on weekends and it began ... 'on the sidewalk' with
the extravagant architecture of America's motion picture palaces. Palaces
seated between 2500 and 6000 patrons at a time; 'de luxe' palaces boasted
stage shows, permanent orchestras, organs, first run films, and an array of
customer services unknown to today's cinemagoers." - from the website
The site contains articles and accompanying graphics to illustrate the
relationship of these amazing movie palaces to the development of American
consumer culture. Included are tours and expositions on their exotic
exterior architecture, opulent lobbies and the sumptuous decor of the
interiors, from persian in the early part of the century to the art deco of
later years. Fascinating historical details such as the serried ranks of
splendidly uniformed ushers trained by ex-army drill sergeants and movie
palaces equipped with their own hospitals are presented as well.
Travel to the site for a look at the gilded past of American movie palaces
at:
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/PALACE/
A.M. Holm
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