movie palace

The Oriental Theatre is an excellent example of a “movie palace” from 1927. A movie palace was larger and grander than a typical movie theater of the period, featuring expansive lobbies, balconies, a stage with orchestra pit, and restrooms with lounges. Most notably, movie palaces had ornate and lavishly detailed interiors designed to make patrons feel as though they were in a unique setting such as an exotic and distant land.

Oriental Theatre Listed in the National Register of Historic Places | Wisconsin Historical Society 2023

Movie palaces were the final step in the studios' near-total control of the American movie industry. Studios largely owned the opulent theaters where their films were shown.

Movie Palaces Let Everyday Americans Be Royalty Smithsonian Magazine 2017

But the first example of truly ambitious cinema design was Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. The boxing promoter Sid Grauman spent $800,000 on constructing a movie palace emblazoned with faux-Egyptian hieroglyphics, friezes, and columns.

Are Long-Forgotten Movie Palaces Entering a New Golden Age? 2024