Movie Palaces: A Film and an “Experience”

Today movie theaters are most successful with blockbuster action films. One hundred years ago, movies were exciting and new. Developers built giant movie palaces for those who could afford to dress up and come.

Movie Palaces

Starting in 1914, developers began building the first theaters created specifically for showing films. By 1922, 4,000 new theaters were built in the United States. These ranged from small theaters in working class neighborhoods to much grander buildings that were reminiscent of the large vaudeville theaters. These early movie theaters held audiences ranging from four thousand to six thousand people. They came to be referred to as “palaces.” The description was fitting.

The lobbies were luxurious; they featured crystal chandeliers, marble mirrors, and plush seating. The men’s and ladies’ lounges were beautifully appointed; some of the women’s lounges had screens so the ladies could keep up with the film’s plot while fixing their hair or make-up. Many of the theaters had children’s playrooms with attendants so parents could go and enjoy the show.

Customers usually wore evening wear, and they came to the movie palace early as there were other things to do. While waiting for the movie to start, patrons could listen to music being played on a Wurlitzer organ, watch a ballet on another stage, or listen to a performance of a live orchestra. Some theaters had art galleries for people to stroll through until it was time for the show.

Architecture with an American Twist

The general architecture of these showplaces ranged widely. Sometimes they were built to look like a Mayan Temple or a European cathedral, but the interiors generally nodded to America. One theater in Los Angeles, the Metropolitan built by Sid Grauman, featured a sphinx in the lobby. The sphinx had the head of George Washington, and the inscription near the statue read: “You cannot speak to us, O George Washington, but you can speak to God. Ask Him to make us good American citizens…”

The Box Office Placement

One of the design features conceived for these palaces is still part of some theaters today. The box office was intentionally set out by the street, often existing as a separate structure. The intent was to welcome patrons into a plush lobby where there were no signs of commercialism. (At that time there were no concession stands in palace lobbies.)

Movie Palaces Required Many Employees

These theaters were also major employers for the day. It was not unusual for a single theater to employ more than a hundred people. Many had 30-40 orchestral musicians providing live music, several dozen ushers, and many people working backstage. Some had a nurse on staff to handle illnesses or fainting. A few had firemen in case of emergency. Animal handlers were necessary at theaters where the shows before the film featured live animal acts.

Ushers were extraordinarily important to the movie palaces. The theaters were large, and there were usually several shows each day, so ushers helped movie the audiences in and movie them out again. The Roxy, built in 1927 under the supervision of Samuel “Roxy” Rothafel (1882-1936), in New York City, hired a retired military officer to oversee the tuxedo-clad ushers. Their impeccable appearance was immortalized by Cole Porter’s 1932 song, “You’re the Top.” (“…You’re the pants on a Roxy usher….”) What’s more, a form of the name lives on. In the 1930s, Roxy Rothafel was hired to run Radio City Music Hall where the Roxyettes eventually became the Rockettes.

At grand theaters like the Roxy, the employees were well cared for. For the performers, there were dressing and rehearsal rooms as well as services such as dry cleaning and laundry. The staff could also take advantage of a cafeteria, gym, billiard room, nap room, library, infirmary, showers, and a barbershop and hairdresser.

A Showman Whose Theaters Live On

Showman Sid Grauman (1879-1950) built several of the most famous movie palaces of the 1920s. His first was the Million Dollar Theater on Broadway in Los Angeles, followed by the Egyptian on Hollywood Boulevard. The Egyptian was originally intended to be Spanish in look, but English archaeologist Howard Carter’s search for the tomb of King Tut was making news in the early 1920s. There was so much public interest in finding the tomb that Grauman decided to capitalize on it. He had the builder switch to Egyptian styling. To both men’s great good luck, Carter found Tut’s tomb two weeks after the Egyptian opened.

Grauman built other theaters in the area that still stand, including El Capitan and the Chinese Theatre. What was known as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre (now called TCL Chinese Theatre) became famous for a courtyard attraction that started in the late 1920s. Grauman thought of inviting famous film stars to sign their names in oversized cement blocks that Grauman used to fill the area outside the theater. Movie stars often left their footprints as well as anything else that signified who they were. Groucho Marx left his cigar print, Jimmy Durante was known for having a big nose, so he left a nose print. Skater Sonja Henie left prints of her skates, and of course, animal stars that couldn’t sign names left hoof- or pawprints.

The End of an Era

The Depression brought an end to the building of these grand movie palaces. Radio City Music Hall, completed in 1932, was the last to be constructed. Because of the economic stress the country faced, audience numbers declined precipitously. They dropped by one-third in just a couple of years (from 90 million per week in 1930 to 60 million).

Many theaters closed, and those managers who kept their theaters open developed “value-added” sales methods that would be familiar to marketers today: discounted prices, raffles, and product give-aways. Ladies’ nights and children’s matinees were used to maintain audiences. Some theater owners raffled off prizes regularly. To build regular attendance, many owners began giving away products each week. One of the more popular items was what we know as Depression-era glassware. Audience members who attended regularly could pay just a nickel for the “dish of the night.” Eventually they could amass a complete set of dishes.

While some of these theaters have undergone renovation to re-establish them for modern audiences. Others are still theaters, but contractors have come in to create four or six smaller theaters insead of just one grand one. In the townw where you can still see the old palaces, it’s well worth the effort to attend a tour. Today the Los Angeles Conservancy runs a program called Last Remaining Seats. Each year they arrange for vintage films to be screened in one of the classic theaters. They also run tours of the theaters.

 

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