![]() ![]() (Fortunately, several documents and photos survive to show us the theatre’s glory at its opening on May 1, 1929.) Time takes its toll of all things as it did when a lightning storm reportedly destroyed the facade’s arch, and the dazzlingly illuminated signs were removed many years ago to be replaced by the 1940’s vogue of the then new fluorescent back lighting tubes which survives with a simple neon name sign to this day. The flanking massive piers once toped with terra cotta urns, nicely framed this center bay which also sported a handsome vertical name sign some three stories high as well as a “Paramount” style marquee over the sidewalk with chasing lights and milk glass letters on the attraction boards. Certainly the Avalon Theater originally did just that with the soaring arch flanked by twisted concrete columns toped with ornate cast finials. The exteriors of movie houses were deliberately designed to attract attention, of course, in order to lure patrons with the implied promise of an exotic experience of pleasure. It is rather small as movie palaces go, but it has as fascinating a legal and genealogical history as any theater. “Welcome to the Avalon Theater, a typical American movie palace of the Roaring Twenties. THE AVALON THEATER: AN ARCHITECTURAL TOUR Help Landmark the Avalon Before It's Too Late!Ĭoming Soon to the Oriental Theatre: "BROKEN BLOSSOMS" by D.W. ![]() Milwaukee's Venetian Theatre center of new renovation effortĪvalon Theatre Among Top 'Endangered' Properties in MilwaukeeĬouncil Subcommittee Votes to Give Avalon Theater Landmark Status Previously operated by: Adler Theater Co., Inc.įunctions: Movies (Classic), Movies (First Run) It’s easy to imagine someone completely forgetting their place in the world after a double feature in such a grand and unusual space.Avalon Atmospheric Theater (Official) Additional Info More than 2,000 guests could gaze under a simulated night sky, complete with twinkling lights as stars. Passing from the lobby to the enormous auditorium is like walking out of a palace and into an outdoor bazaar at night, with a tent over the stage and screen. Set into the ceiling are gemstones that glistened as they moved, blown by the air from a then-recent innovation known as air conditioning. The lobby he designed is resplendent with colored tile under a flying-carpet ceiling. His plans for the Avalon Theater were said to have been inspired by a Persian incense burner he found at an antiques store. John Eberson was a prolific designer of atmospheric theaters. These buildings borrowed from exotic and exciting places, and were constructed with such lavish attention to detail that the typical moviegoer might forget she was even in Chicago. Some of the most fanciful of these historicist buildings were the atmospheric theaters. Veterans returning from service in foreign lands during the first World War, and tourists armed with early cameras, brought images of exotic places home that inspired architects. In the boom years of the 1920s, countless buildings in America borrowed from historic architectural styles. The New Regal Theater was recently sold for only $100,000, but the owner intends to invest nearly $10 million to restore it. Did You KnowĪ mural on the western exterior of the building includes the likenesses of many famous jazz and blues musicians like Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. Over the combined history of the original Regal Theater and the Avalon/New Regal, many notable musicians have performed in the space including Cab Calloway, Nat King Cole, John Coltrane, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, the Jackson 5, B.B. ![]()
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