Theater Evolution

Welcome back to The Expressionist Magazine

Theaters have come a long, long way since the earliest ones that sprung up across America.  For many Americans the theater was the only form of live entertainment, so coming to the theater was a big deal.  Theaters came in many different shapes and sizes, from cheaply built ones to grand masters across our nation; the evolution of these buildings is not only interesting, but a work of art.

Obviously in the 1800s the East Coast had much more sophisticated examples of then modern day theaters than the West did, mainly because of money and supplies available.  The West, however, was not going to lose their ability to have live shows just because of their location.

BIRD CAGE THEATER

Let’s look at the Bird Cage Theater in Tombstone, Arizona as an example of early western theaters.  The Bird Cage Theater had a stage and single wooden chairs spread across the main floor.  There was nothing acoustic about it, that’s not how it was designed.  The Bird Cage was just a quick and dirty place to watch a show.  Due to the lack of sophisticated materials, this wooden theater was nothing much to look at and probably uncomfortable, but it was a traveler’s town so it was meant to give those passing through a good show and not the comforts of home.  This place housed Vaudeville, Burlesque and musical shows throughout its life.

You probably wouldn’t have wanted a luxurious theater there anyway.  There were many outlaws that would come to a show and shoot their guns off, destroying the architecture.  Where they were, gold panning all day, the patrons were not very clean which would ruin fine theater chairs.  The  small gold mining town did not have a lot of places to hold a gala or party of sorts, so the theater, being able to accommodate, could easily have the chairs stacked and turned into a dance floor.  These theaters in places like the “Old West” could also stand for town meetings if the church was unavailable.

If you visit Tombstone today, you can see this amazing structure as it still stands abandoned.  Downstairs was an old poker and “play” room that Doc Holiday supposedly used with his girlfriend when he stayed in Tombstone, plus the Bird Cage Theater is said to be haunted.

FORD’S THEATRE

On the east coast of the United States we have a good example of a period theater with more amenities than the Bird Cage Theater, and just as much history.  This theater is the Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C.

Unlike the Bird Cage Theater, it has two tiers surrounding the three walls of the theater, stopping at the stage.  There is also a “state box” where the president would sit with his guests.  It’s that box that Lincoln was assassinated.  Ford’s Theatre had fixed theater chairs and carpeting on the floor, unlike the Bird Cage Theater.  It resembled the theaters you would find in Europe with period architecture.

Ford’s Theatre was used for the same events as the Bird Cage Theater was, which shows the diverse look and feel each one had despite the fact they were both built around the same period of American history.

However, a change came to America that would revolutionize theaters forever.  In the early 20^th century, around 1914 to 1919, we would be introduced to movies.  At the time they were silent films, where a pipe organ would have to play music to add in drama.  Many theaters would have to be renovated in order to accommodate, or they would not be able to show motion picture movies.  This movement completely split the performing arts all together with live shows taking a back seat and eventually fading away.

In the early 1900s, a Romanian born architect named John Eberson came to America and settled in Missouri.  Eberson would revolutionize the art of the theater with his designs that incorporated live and motion picture performances. In 1915, Eberson worked in construction when he designed his first theater masterpiece in America called “The Paramount Theatre” in Austin, Texas.  That theater still stands today.  America loved his designs, because he brought the European feel to the theaters while maintaining the high standards necessary to theater enjoyment.  Each one was a Victorian work of art, now termed Gothic by some.  Eberson’s standard of design for theaters took off, and soon made him in high demand.  If he put a theater in your city, you were on the map.

Eberson designed many theaters around the U.S. which included:  (* = no longer exist)

The Paramount Theatre (Austin, Texas), Austin, Texas, 1915

*The Majestic Theater (Dallas), Dallas Texas, 1921

Orpheum, Wichita, Kansas, 1922

Olympia Theater, Miami, Florida, 1926

Tampa Theatre, Tampa, Florida, 1926; listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 1978.

State Theater, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1927

Capitol Theatre, Flint, Michigan, 1927

The Louisville Palace, Louisville, Kentucky, 1928

Uptown Theater, Kansas City, Missouri, 1928

Stanley Theater, Jersey City, New Jersey, 1928

*The Palace Theatre, Marion, Ohio, 1928

*Loew’s Akron, Akron, Ohio, (now Akron Civic Theater), 1929

*Loew’s Paradise Theater, The Bronx, New York, 1929 (one of the five Loew’s Wonder Theaters, which were Loew’s flagship theaters in the New York City area)

*Loew’s Valencia Theater, Queens, New York, 1929, another of the 5 Loew’s Wonder Theaters

Paramount Theatre, Anderson, Indiana, 1929

Majestic Theatre, San Antonio, Texas, 1929

The Warner Theatre, Morgantown, West Virginia, 1931

*Lakewood Theater (Dallas), Dallas Texas, 1938

Bethesda Theater, Bethesda, Maryland, 1938; listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 1999.

Silver Theater, Silver Spring, Maryland, 1938

*The Woodlawn Theatre, San Antonio, Texas, 1946

Theaters would forever model themselves after his work from the 1940s to the 1970s but could never compare.  Many new theaters removed the stage because live acts were just not common anymore, therefore not needed.  Finally, motion picture and live performances split, which gave two venues “Performing Arts Theatres” (where you would find those live acts), and movie theaters.  Many of Eberson’s theaters went into ruins because of the new multiplex theaters, except some places refused to let these works of art go into ruins and still maintain shows today.

Eberson’s work took second stage to these new multiplexes that showed multiple movies at one time.  They had better views, no longer had balconies, and removed a lot of the ambiances his theaters once had.  It remained like that till the mid to late 90s when we started to see luxurious stadium reclining seats and cup holders, and large HD screens with powerful Dolby Surround Sound. In some places they even have a fine dining bistro inside, with seats in the theater where you are served by a waiter prior to the show.

It’s amazing how the art has been removed from the theaters, but the luxuries still remain today and change with the times.  If you truly want to see a work of art, stop by any of John Eberson’s theaters; we have one right here in Tampa today.