Rapp & Rapp Designed Balcony

Cornelius Ward Rabb (1861-1927) and his brother, George Leslie Rapp (1878-1941) commonly known as Rapp & Rapp was an American architectural firm famed for the design of movie palaces and other theatres. Rapp & Rapp were active from 1906 to 1965.  

The Rapp brothers were among a group of highly influential American theatre architects which also included Thomas W. Lamb of New York City and John Eberson of Chicago.  These men were responsible for the design of some 400 theatres most of which were built in the 1920s.  Eberson designed many atmospheric theatres which utilized romantic architectural elements to evoke specific times and places.  Many of the theatres and other buildings designed by the Rapp brothers have been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places. 

Rapp and Rapp were both born in Carbondale, Illinois. C.W. Rapp formed a partnership in 1889 with the Canadian born Cryus P. Thomas and they practiced together in Chicago until 1895.  From 1896 C.W. Rapp operated his own office and later formed a partnership with his brother George in 1906. The firm of Rapp & Rapp soon developed a reputation for their elaborate design for silent film theatres in the Chicago area.  Drawing on rich French classical architecture from the 18th and 19th centuries, they carried out design for many theatres between 1906 and 1926 and with another leading designer of the day such as Thomas Lamb.  These men with such theatre vision exercised a sustained influence on North American movie house architecture for more than two decades. 

 

Atmospheric theatres were a type of movie palace design using the use of projectors, architectural elements and ornamentation that evoked a sense of being outdoors.  In my research I found this list of surviving atmospheric theatres in the United States are as follows:

Akron Civic Theatre in Akron, OH; Avalon Regal Theatre in Chicago, IL; Capitol Theatre in Flint, MI; Carpenter Theatre in Richmond, VA; Indiana Theatre in Terre Haute, IN; Palace in Louisville, KY; Majestic Theatre in Dallas, TX; Majestic Theatre in San Antonio, TX; Olympia Theatre in Miami, FL; Orpheum Theatre in Wichita, KS; Palace Theatre in Canton OH; Palace Theatre in Marion, OH; Paramount Theatre in Anderson, IN; Rose Blumkin Performing Arts Center in Omaha, Nebraska; State Theatre in Kalamazoo, MI; Tampa Theatre in Tampa, FL; Uptown Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri.

Akron Civic Theatre (Akron OH)

The Akron Civic Theatre was built in 1929 by Marcus Loew and designed by theatre architect John Eberson.  It opened as Loew's Theatre and later Cinema Theatre.  It seats 3,000 people.  The auditorium is designed to resemble a night in a Moorish garden.  Twinking stars and drifting clouds travel across the domed ceiling.  In June 2001, the Akron Civic Theatre closed its doors for the most expensive and extensive renovation in its history that included a price tag cost of just over $19 million. 

This is music to my ears being an historic theatre buff for many years.  I have visited the Akron Civic Theatre and it is truly a cinema treasure along with the Palace Theatre in Marion OH, the Fox Theatre in Atlanta GA and the Polk Theatre in Lakeland FL.

Palace Theatre (Marion OH)

If walls could talk, oh the stories the walls of the Palace would tell.  Stories of stars of stage and screen.  Prominent performers of the day then and now.  Stars the likes of Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong.  It was an exciting place for the community to gather and celebrate life.  And it still is.  Construction began January 1928.  The entertainment venue designed by John Eberson was complete in just 8 short months!  The owners opened its remarkable wooden doors to an anxious crowd of over 3,200 on August 30, 1928.  Those folks became the first to experience the lavish interior and a stage filled with exciting entertainment.  Not only were the programs captivating, but the building was show-stopping, as well.  The Spanish design did not disappoint.  The lobby prepares guests for transport to another place and time.  Entering the auditorium reveals the makings of a Spanish courtyard complete with muted stucco walls with vines and a midnight blue sky with birds in flight twinkling stars and clouds afloat overhead.  statues adorn the Palace walls and decorative crests outline the grand proscenium stage.  

After several decades of changing ownership, the Palace was in need of a great deal of work if it were to remain the masterpiece Eberson intended and Marion residents had come to enjoy. In the mid 70s, the owner was looking to sell what had become a movie theatre in need of repair.  The Marion Concert Series shared the space and was more thana little interested in seeing the Palace retain its intended uses.  Spear-headed by John C. Keggan, the Palace Guard was born. This group of 7 Marion businessmen pulled out their wallets and rolled up their sleeves!  They rallied the Marion community and invoked the support of area industries.  In 1976, the Palace was "re-born" in all its splendor.

This Eberson inspired theatre gem remains the cornerstone to downtown activity welcoming over 60,000 guests per year.  Today, the Palace is a vibrant performing arts venue hosting national touring artists, regional performers and movie films thanks to 7 businessmen who cared.  

Theatre Ushers

Fox Theatre (Atlanta GA)

The first time I ever walked into the Fox Theatre auditorium tears came to my eyes while viewing my first atmospheric theatre and its elegant grandeur.  It was a moment I shall never forget and this is why ..

The Fox Theatre was built in 1929 and is the city's only surviving movie palace.  Sadly, the theatre that premiered Gone With The Wind in 1939 does not exist.  The 4, 665 seat auditorium replicates an Arabian courtyard complete with a night sky of 96 embedded crystal "stars" (a third of which flicker) and a projection of clouds that slowly drift across the "sky".  

Polk Theatre (Lakeland FL)

Through the years I have also visited an atmospheric theatre called the Polk Theatre in Lakeland, FL.  It was built in 1928 and opened on december 22, 1928.  The first film was a Warner Brothers all-talking special, "On Trial".   It is reminiscent of  a Mediterranean village and seats 1,400. As a special treat I had the opportunity to hear the theatre organ while visiting this cinema gem.  This chance opportunity was due to the fact the organ was being serviced at the time of my visit.  The Polk's splendor includes a starry ceiling painted a deep, royal blue with its twinkling stars and sunrise/sunset effect. As the saying goes .. if they build it, they will come.  Through the years the Polk entertained patrons with such names as Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, Gene Krupa, Eddy Arnold, Tom Mix, Gene Autrey, Glenn Miller and the King himself, Elvis Presley in 1956.  I can well imagine the walls of the Polk were shakin' then with the song, "A Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On" being performed by Elvis that star-struck night in Lakeland, FL.

The Polk Theatre was built during a golden age in the United States .. the stock market had yet to crash and the clouds of World War II were not yet on the horizon.  Even so, it was quite a leap of faith to build a vaudeville/movie palace in Lakeland in 1928.  The population hovered at only 15,000 people and it was a rural community in the central part of Florida.  

I acquired an interest in old theatres since finding an online site called Cinema Treasures.  Hundreds of theatres are featured on CT including my hometown theatre, the Grand Theatre located in Westfield, New York.  A story about the Grand and the exhibit I coordinated in June 2022 titled Remembering the Grand will be forthcoming.  The exhibit was to not only remember the Grand, but to honor the Grand.  At the exhibit opening reception held in Moore Park we toasted the former theatre that stood from 1942-1992 with Welch's Sparkling Grape Juice.