New visitor? Read more about Mike here, or visit Mike’s main Historic Theatre Photography website here. Continue below for the full roundup on Mike’s passion project: Atmospheric Theatres!

The atmospheric theatre style was designed to evoke the sense of being transported to an exotic outdoor location. Far-away places were considered exotic and so in America that often meant European cities, places which most Americans would never have the chance to visit.

Atmospheric theatres were a phase in the evolution of theatre design which followed the grand American theatres and movie palaces of the 1910s and early 1920s, largely modeled on the design of European opera houses; but before the Great Depression took hold leading to increased levels of austerity coupled with the desire to shun opulence, and instead embrace a streamlined modernistic approach with an eye to the future.

Majestic Theatre
San Antonio (Texas)

The atmospheric theatre style eschewed the formal, box-like symmetrical designs of traditional theatre auditoria. Atmospheric theatres were typically asymmetrical and far more playful in their design. Atmospherics were most commonly Mediterranean or Spanish courtyards or garden settings, above which soared a cerulean or azure blue starlit sky, often with clouds drifting lazily past thanks to new technologies for the 1920s enabling the projection of moving cloud effects using light.

But the atmospheric theatre style wasn’t just about creating dazzling effects for the patron: atmospherics were also very much about the economics of running a theatre. Atmospherics cost less to build than traditional theatres – which were differentiated from atmospheric theatres by being called “hard tops” in the United States, usually sporting an expensive central chandelier, a richly detailed plastered classical ceiling perhaps with gilded lines and accents, cherubs and caryatids adorning and supporting the balconies and boxes, and classical detailed murals.

In contrast, the atmospheric theatre style called for a simple rounded plaster dome ceiling at a time when construction costs had escalated after the First World War and wages for ornamental plasterers had reached an all-time high.

Atmospherics Built By Year

The first atmospheric theatre was built in early 1923, although experimentation with the emergent style was taking place as early as 1921. Accordingly, these proto-atmospheric theatres which helped define and inform the atmospheric style as it was being developed, are included in our listings of atmospheric theatres.

The atmospheric theatre style hit its stride in the mid-1920s and then peaked in 1928 and 1929. The style gradually tailed-off in the early 1930s as the Great Depression took hold and audiences clamored for more austere and less opulent surroundings.

The few atmospheric theatres built after the mid-1930s were a design choice generally paying homage to the opulent 1920s style, and deliberately eschewing the early 1930s austere and streamlined approach to movie theatre design.

John Eberson and the development of the Atmospheric style

Visalia Fox Theatre
(California)

The pioneer of the atmospheric theatre style was prolific theatre architect John Eberson. At the opening of the Tampa Theatre in Florida in October 1926, Eberson stated:

“My idea for the atmospheric theater was born in Florida. I saw the value of putting nature to work and so have borrowed the color and design that are found in the flowers and the trees. The inhabitants of Spain and southern Italy live under the sun and enjoy the happiness nature affords them. So I decided their architecture probably would provide the firm foundation for a theater.”

Eberson was probably also influenced by other experiences, including visiting the St. Louis Word’s Fair in 1904 which would have demonstrated the solid and permanent appearance of plasterwork while being used as an impermanent construction material, and Chicago’s Cort Theater (opened 1909, demolished 1934) designed by John E.O. Pridmore which featured a Roman pergola with vine-clad beams and a blue sky ceiling above; an outdoor overhead setting for what was otherwise a traditional traditional auditorium design.

Eberson devised a business model which saw his own centralized studio – the Michel Angelo Studios, Inc. of New York – mass produce works for the theatres he designed. The studio, overseen by Eberson’s wife Beatrice (Beatty) Lamb, was staffed with dedicated master plasterers and created statuary, moldings, and architectural components which Eberson would then re-use across multiple theatre designs, rearranging the separate elements into different settings, thereby reducing the cost of building a theatre simply through the economics of reuse.

Orpheum Theatre
(Phoenix, Arizona)

The model also meant that Eberson could control the quality of product from start to finish by using his own master plasterers and installation crews. Construction on-site was simplified and therefore costs reduced because ready-made statuary and architectural elements arrived in crated packages and just needed assembled on-site, and then painted, by Eberson’s traveling theatre installation teams.

Eberson declared the Majestic Theatre in Houston, Texas (demolished in 1971), as his first atmospheric theatre. The evolution of Eberson’s atmospheric theatre designs leading up to this point seems clear from his earlier projects prior to the Majestic, which we will refer to as his proto-atmospherics.

The Majestic Theatre in Dallas, Texas, was Eberson’s first proto-atmospheric. Opened April 1921, it sports a mix of formal Corinthian columns surrounding a triumphal proscenium arch, with symmetrical organ grilles giving way to latticework with a plain blue-lit ceiling behind...perhaps suggestive of a cerulean blue night sky?

Majestic Theatre
(Houston, Texas)

Eberson’s second proto-atmospheric theatre was the Indiana Theatre in Terre Haute, Indiana (opened January 1922), designed in a Moorish style featuring false balconies on the sidewalls with the organ grilles designed to look like backlit windows. The theatre design was developing into something which made it feel like the audience was sitting inside a village or community.

Eberson’s third and final proto-atmospheric theatre was the Orpheum Theatre in Wichita, Kansas (opened September 1922). While still a symmetrical auditorium design, it features statuary, niches, and window-like openings which would go on to become staple features of Eberson’s atmospherics theatres. Notably the theatre also features a smooth blue-sky ceiling bordered by faux tilework roofs in the balcony combined with cove lighting. The ceiling currently contains stars, and if these are original this is hugely significant and adds significant strength to the theory of the theatre being one of Eberson’s proto-atmospheric designs.

Eberson’s first self-proclaimed atmospheric theatre, the Majestic in Houston, garnered much attention with the press noting:

“Revolutionary developments in theatre design have been few since the beginning. Unquestionably the most innovational is the Majestic, Houston, Texas, designed by Architect John Eberson of Chicago.”

Everyone agreed, and the movie and theatre-going public flocked toward this new escape into exoticism. Theatre owners loved the lower cost and faster time to build, Eberson had no end of commissions to take up, and thus the fascination with Atmospheric Theatres was born!

Eberson was a showman; a showman whose designs glorified romantic architecture. His self-proclaimed mission was “to build new dream worlds for the disillusioned”. His legacy of historic Atmospheric theatres, largely in the United States, surely proves that he achieved that goal.

In June 1926, industry publication Motion Picture News printed an interview with Eberson as interest in atmospheric theatres was taking hold of the movie-going audience and theatre managers alike. You can read a web-friendly version of the article, complete with color sketches by Eberson and photos of some early atmospheric theatres, by clicking on the banner below:

The Atmospheric Theatre - an interview with John Eberson

In late 1926 the Exhibitors Herald reported on theatre construction activity across the United States and noted that the Atmospheric theatre type was gaining “such vogue” following the opening of the Capitol Theatre in Chicago. The style was winning favor across the country, evidenced by the-then recent openings of the Grand Riviera Theatre in Detroit, Michigan; the Palace Theatre in Gary, Indiana; and the Olympic [sic] Theatre in Miami, Florida. It was noted that the first Atmospheric theatre in New York was already planned. This would go on to open in October 1927 as the Universal Theatre in Brooklyn, New York.

The mid-1926 article was followed-up 18 months later with another major article in Motion Picture News: a second and lengthy interview with Eberson, illustrated with more color sketches from Eberson’s sketch book alongside black-and-white photographs of the increasing number of atmospheric theatres across the United States. You can read a web-friendly version of the article, complete with all its glorious color sketches, by clicking on the banner below:

New Theatres For Old, by John Eberson

Researching Atmospheric Styles

Fox Theatre
(Hanford, California)

The term “atmospheric theatre” can be used rather loosely and at times incorrectly, so let us define the criteria used on this website for a theatre to be an atmospheric:

An Outdoor Setting: whereas the auditorium design need not be asymmetrical (although such designs do tend to feature in the best and most elaborate atmospheric theatre examples), the auditorium does need to represent an outdoor setting.
Stars and Sky: a blue smooth plaster dome ceiling with no straight lines at the edges, featuring twinkling stars.
Fleecy Clouds: definitely a plus but not a requirement. The most elaborate atmospheric theatres all featured moving clouds projected by light onto the sky ceiling (some even featured a moving Moon effect) but smaller theatres simply relied on painted ceilings for a similar effect.

Theatres which are not full atmospherics are included here under the umbrella style of Pseudo-Atmospheric, which includes substyles such as Maverick Atmospheric, Abstract Atmospheric, and Semi-Atmospheric.

Atmospheric Theatre Styles

By far the most popular atmospheric style was Spanish, accounting for 56% of all atmospheric theatres thus far surveyed on this website.

The popularity of Spanish themes likely reflects the fact that atmospheric theatre styles were most popular in the United States during the 1920s, at the same time as Spain was particularly alluring to Americans. Europe seemed mystical, coupled with the fact that most American theatre-goers were unlikely to have the means to visit these exotic European lands. Spanish, and to a lesser extent Italian, landscapes typified the mystic allure of Europe for Americans.

There were also a wide range of more obscure styles such as Dutch villages, Japanese tea gardens, Medieval villages, Mesoamerican temples, and even a theatre design modeled on a 16th century French chateau.

There are yet more atmospheric styles to be found in the records of lost theatres, including examples such as underwater themes featuring Neptune and seahorses!

Spanish Atmospheric Styles

The popular Spanish atmospheric style, accounting for 56% of all atmospheric theatres thus far surveyed, can be broken down into numerous sub-styles.

While many scholars would happily argue whether a particular auditorium interior is a Spanish garden or a Spanish courtyard, Mike has researched the sub-styles listed on this website back as close to the original source as possible. When no historic direction on style is available for a particular theatre Mike has used his experience surveying atmospheric theatre designs across the globe to decide upon a specific sub-style.

In many cases the Italian or Spanish sub-style is as quoted by the architect, however some Spanish styles are represented by how the local media interpreted the theatre at the time of reporting theatre openings. Whereas this may have been based upon interviews with the theatre’s design team Mike concedes it may in part be down to the interpretation of the reporter, and therefore potentially unreliable.

In cases where no sub-style has come to light during the research process, Mike has categorized theatres into one of the existing Spanish sub-styles. This data continues to be reviewed as additional information comes to light.

Atmospherics: the late 20th century and beyond

The atmospheric-styled shopping promenade of the Venetian Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas

The last great atmospheric theatre was built in the early 1940s, however the style has resurfaced at times throughout the decades. In the late 1980s Disney partnered with Pacific Theatres to renovate a single screen neighborhood theatre in Los Angeles, the Crest Theatre.

Theatre designer Joseph (Joe) J. Musil headed-up the project and designed a Hollywood Revival atmospheric interior for the renovated theatre. The auditorium sidewalls featured stylized Hollywood and Los Angeles buildings highlighted with fluorescent paint excited by black/ultraviolet light. The auditorium ceiling was painted to look like the night sky with lights representing stars, and a “shooting star” lighting effect which was triggered just as the main feature got underway.

The theatrical atmosheric design style can be seen in some building designs of the late 20th century, the most obvious example being the Venetian-styled shopping promenades of The Venetian Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas . The style was copied by other Las Vegas casinos to afford patrons the feeling that they were shopping outside.

Atmospherics: further education

Atmospheric Theatres presentation for the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation

Mike has lectured extensively on atmospheric theatre styles, and has also created an 80-minute video documentary all about the atmospheric theatre style, its background, development, history, prolific architects, and legacy.

Unfortunately we cannot provide the documentary for free download here due to copyright but please contact Mike here if you’re interested in seeing the video!

In addition to the database of atmospheric theatres listed further down this page Mike also maintains a public Google Map of atmospheric theatres which is searchable by atmospheric style plus former and current theatre names. Each theatre also includes a thumbnail photo for easy reference.