Luxurious movie palaces were not entirely new when the Strand came along in 1914.  In an attempt to bridge the gap between legitimate theater and the movies, the Vitagraph Company converted the Criterion Theater on Broadway into a movie theater one full year before the Strand.  The Vitagraph, as it was called, was the first to offer long feature films for a dollar, while Nickelodeons only played shorts.[1]  The theater was ornately decorated both inside and out and included a Wurlitzer organ for accompaniment.

When the Strand opened in 1914, the Vitagraph was replaced as the leading movie theater on Broadway.  The Strand was very different from the Vitagraph for a number of reasons.  It was larger and more opulent in its decoration.  The Strand also offered more than just a film.  Under the direction of Samuel Rothapfel, or “Roxy” as he was known to many, the theater exhibited full shows including Vaudeville acts and several shorts before the feature presentation.[2] 

The opulent movie palaces that followed into the twenties all took a cue from the Strand.  Independent ownership of theaters (as in the case of Nickelodeons) was replaced by production studio ownership.  Fox, Paramount, and Loew, among others, controlled these picture palaces and the exhibited films.   

Movie Premieres

             Across the country in Hollywood, Sidney Grauman brought the emerging opulence of the movie palace out into the street.  Considered the father of the “gala” premiere, Grauman developed these larger than life events first in downtown Los Angeles and then on Hollywood Boulevard.  His 1922 creation, the Egyptian Theater, was the scene of the first Hollywood movie premieres.[3]

            The film industry adopted the movie premiere in an effort to bring legitimacy to their pictures.  Similar to Broadway premieres, a movie premiere in a picture palace indicated that the film was first rate.  Films opened in a spectacular manner with stars, floodlights, radio announcers and thousands of spectators.  The publicity allowed the film to open more successfully in smaller towns. [4]

            The movie palace was an essential part of the movie premiere.  Grauman’s Egyptian and later, his Chinese Theater (1927) proved worthy backdrops for the fantasy openings the public craved.  Grauman purposely built his theaters away from the street to allow for lavish decorations and ample space for spectators.  Decorations for the theaters followed the latest crazes.  The Egyptian opened the year King Tut’s tomb was discovered, and the Chinese theater opened as a larger Oriental fad swept the nation.[5]

Architects & Owners

            As opulent movie palaces opened across the country, three architects set the standards through their creations.  Thomas Lamb, John Eberson and George Rapp all had reputations as leaders in their field.  Lamb made his mark with extravagant and exotic designs including the Mexican baroque style of the Loew’s Ohio in Columbus and the Cambodia inspired 72^nd Street Theater in Manhattan.  Eberson was known for his “atmospheric” designs – theaters that resembled outdoor Mediterranean courtyards complete with clouds moving across the “sky.”  Rapp specialized in ornately decorated ceilings and lobbies in the Italian Renaissance style.[6]
 

            Rapp often designed for theater owners Abraham Balaban and Sam Katz.  Balaban and Katz, as they were known, set out to deliver fantasy and luxury to all classes.  They charged an expensive amount - one dollar for their shows - but offered the working class equality in the theater.  There was just one price for every seat in the house, with no reserved or more expensive seats as in the legitimate theater.  Balaban and Katz offered the cross-class fantasies of luxury and consumption that the working class, white-collar workers and the emerging middle classes craved.[7]