The Avalon Theater on Chicago's South Side is exemplary piece of Moorish Revivalism, with its 2,250 seats under a deep blue twilight sky surrounded in romanticized motifs, suggestive of a Persian bazaar. American architect John Eberson, known for his atmospheric theater designs, took his inspiration from an incense burner discovered in an antique market when designing it.
Chicago's once vibrant theaters that brought people together to laugh and cry.
The faded performance palaces of Motor City.
Shuttered theaters all through out the eastern United States.
Abandoned entertainment houses scattered across out the Rust Belt of the industrial Midwest.
With an opening day marquee announcing “an acre of seats in a magic city,” Chicago’s 4,300-seat Uptown Theatre is the largest freestanding theater in the country, debuting in 1925 as one of the world’s most glamorous movie palaces. The Uptown Theater in Chicago is the last jewel of the Balaban and Katz theater chain. Its opulent grand entrance is adorned with marble floors and 24-carat gold and silver leaf designs reflecting the period’s extravagances. Although the Uptown enjoyed several years of success, changing economic factors forced the theater into a steady period of decline. The Uptown closed for good in 1981 when its owners neglected to heat the building during the winter and it suffered extensive damage from frozen water pipes. Purchased through judicial sale by Jam Productions in 2008, restoration efforts have been slow, with repair estimates nearing $70 million.
