Eberson at the opening of Loew’s Richmond in April 1928

John Adolf Emil Eberson was born in early 1875 to Austro-Hungarian parents in Chernivtsi, in what is modern-day Western Ukraine. He schooled in Dresden in Germany and then studied electrical engineering at the University of Vienna.

Having spent 25 years in various parts of Europe, Eberson immigrated to the United States at the start of the twentieth century and settled in St Louis, Missouri.

Parramount Theatre, Austin - designed by John Eberson in 1915

Eberson became an apprentice at the Johnston Realty and Construction Company, a firm specializing in theatre architecture and construction, and in the fullness of time Eberson traveled much of the eastern United States with Johnston, promoting the building of opera houses in small towns. Eberson would design the opera house and Johnston would build it, affording Eberson the nickname “Opera House John”.

Eberson borrowed from his time spent in various European cities to inform his “continental” theatre designs, which were not only popular but capable of staging both live vaudeville acts and screening silent movies accompanied by pipe organs.

In 1910, Eberson, by then married with children, moved to Chicago. From there he increased his theatrical commissions including several for the Interstate Amusement Company run by Karl Hoblitzelle.

Majestic Theatre, Houston, Eberson’s first Atmospheric theatre

In 1915, Eberson designed the Majestic Theatre in Austin, Texas, which is now known as the Paramount Theatre. The theatre had a traditional European opera house design.

In the early 1920s Eberson spent time gestating the idea of what would become his self-proclaimed Atmospheric theatre style.

The Majestic Theatre in Dallas, Texas, was a proto-Atmospheric design where Eberson was clearly experimenting with his ideas for the emergent style. 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?

Eberson’s second and third proto-Atmospheric theatres were the Indiana Theatre in Terre Haute, Indiana (opened January 1922) and the Orpheum Theatre in Wichita, Kansas (opened September 1922). Both theatres featured elements which would go on to become staples of Eberson’s Atmospheric theatre style, and indeed the Orpheum was essentially an Atmospheric theatre just without moving clouds. Eberson, having at that time not yet come up with the term “Atmospheric”, called it “an outdoor theatre, indoors”.

The Tampa Theatre, cited by Eberson as one of his “most beautiful and perfect” theatres

Eberson announced that the Majestic Theatre in Houston, Texas, completed in 1923, was his first Atmospheric theatre.

Eberson stated that his “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 undoubtedly influenced by other experiences, including visiting the St. Louis World’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 amphitheatre setting for a non-traditional auditorium design.

Akron Civic Theatre

Ultimately, Eberson devised a business model which saw his own centralized studio – the Michael Angelo Studios in New York – mass produce components for the theatres he designed. The studio, overseen by Eberson’s wife Beatrice (Beatty) Lamb, was staffed with dedicated master plasterers and created moldings, friezes, 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. Statuary generally came from PP Caproni & Bro., Inc. in Boston, Massachusetts.

The model 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 passed away after a brief illness on Friday 5th March 1954 in Stamford, Connecticut. He was 79. Eberson was survived by his wife Beatrice and three children (his son Drew and two daughters). He was buried at Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum in Hartsdale, New York. Drew continued the firm under the father and son name until the early 1970’s.

Eberson’s prolific career spanned almost 50 years and he designed over 500 theatres. Archives of his work are held by The Wolfsonian-Florida International University .

Definitive list of extant Atmospheric theatres (23 in total) designed in full or part by John Eberson:

Australia

 Capitol Theatre (Sydney, New South Wales)

 Forum Melbourne (Melbourne, Victoria) former name: State Theatre

France

 Le Grand Rex (Paris, Île-de-France)

United States

 Akron Civic Theatre (Akron, Ohio) former name: Loew’s Akron

 Avalon Regal Theater (Chicago, Illinois) former names: Avalon Theater, Miracle Temple Church, New Regal Theater

 Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom (Chicago, Illinois) former name: Aragon Ballroom

 Canton Palace Theatre (Canton, Ohio)

 Capitol Theatre (Flint, Michigan)

 Carpenter Theatre (Richmond, Virginia) former names: Loew’s Richmond, Carpenter Center for the Performing Arts, Richmond CenterStage, Virginia Center for the Performing Arts

 Indiana Theatre (Terre Haute, Indiana) former name: Indiana Theatre Event Center

 Louisville Palace Theatre (Louisville, Kentucky) former name: Loew’s and United Artists’ State Theater

 Majestic Theatre (San Antonio, Texas)

 Majestic Theatre (Dallas, Texas)

 Olympia Theater (Miami, Florida) former names: Gusman Philharmonic Hall, Gusman Cultural Center, Gusman Center for the Performing Arts

 Orpheum Theatre (Wichita, Kansas)

 Palace Theatre (Marion, Ohio)

 Paradise Theater (The Bronx, New York) former names: Venetian Theatre, Loew’s Paradise

 Paramount Theatre (Anderson, Indiana)

 Rose Blumkin Performing Arts Center (Omaha, Nebraska) former names: Riviera Theatre, Paramount Theatre, Astro Theatre

 State Theatre (Kalamazoo, Michigan)

 Tabernacle of Prayer for All People (Jamaica, New York) former names: Loew’s Valencia, Valencia Theatre

 Tampa Theatre (Tampa, Florida)

 Uptown Theater (Kansas City, Missouri)

Extant theatres (all types) designed by John Eberson and featured on this website:

Akron Civic Theatre, Ohio, United States

The Akron Civic opened as Loew’s Akron in April 1929, part of the theatre chain built by exhibitor Marcus Loew. It is one of the few remaining Atmospheric theatres designed by renowned theatre architect John Eberson to survive.

Avalon Regal Theater, Illinois, United States

The Avalon Theater opened in 1927, designed in the Atmospheric style with a Moorish theme by renowned theatre architect John Eberson. It was a first-run theatre for many years, then a church, then was renovated and reopened as the New Regal Theater in 1987, however closed in 2003.

Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, Illinois, United States

The $2 million Aragon Ballroom was built by brothers Andrew and William Karzas. It opened in mid-July 1926 with the crowning of the Elks Crown Queen for the Chicago lodge of the Fraternal Order of Elks, which that year was Miss Jaen Marre. The audience in attendance was said to be 10,000 and the...

Canton Palace Theatre, Ohio, United States

The Palace Theatre was built by local businessman Harry H. Ink, who had made his fortune from a sore throat remedy called Tonsiline. Noted theatre architect John Eberson designed the theatre which was reported to have cost over $1 million, and featured the city’s first air conditioning.

Capitol Theatre, Flint, Michigan, United States

The 2,000-seat Capitol Theatre opened in early 1928 with a screening of the movie College (1927) starring Buster Keaton. The Capitol Orchestra performed the “Capitol March” under the direction of its composer Dale Owens. Three vaudeville acts completed the bill.

Capitol Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Australia’s Capitol Theatre in the Haymarket suburb of Sydney was designed by architect Henry White in conjunction with John Eberson, in an Italian Garden design which was very similar to Eberson’s Riviera Theatre, now called the Rose Blumkin Performing Arts Center, in Omaha Nebraska.

Carpenter Theatre, Richmond, Virginia, United States

The 2,200-seat Loew’s Richmond opened in April 1928 at a cost of $1.25 million and was designed by architect John Eberson in his signature Atmospheric style with a Spanish garden theme.

Embassy Theatre, Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States

The Embassy Theatre in Fort Wayne, Indiana, first opened in May 1928 as the Emboyd Theatre, a silent movie and vaudeville house with capacity for nearly 3,000, designed by noted theatre architect John Eberson. The theatre has been known as the Embassy Theatre since the early 1950s.

Forum Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

The 3,371-seat State Theatre opened in February 1929 and was designed by Henry White in conjunction with John Eberson.

Indiana Theatre, Terre Haute, Indiana, United States

The Indiana Theatre was the second of architect John Eberson’s three proto-Atmospheric theatres, all built prior to his self-proclaimed first Atmospheric theatre, the Majestic Theatre in Houston, Texas.

Le Grand Rex, Paris, Île-de-France, France

The 3,300-seat theatre opened in early December 1932 with a screening of Les Trois Mousquetaires / The Three Musketeers (1932) starring Aime Simon-Girard, Henri Rollan and Thomy Bourdelle.

Louisville Palace Theatre, Kentucky, United States

The 3,300-seat Loew’s and United Artists’ State Theatre opened in early September 1928, the first Atmospheric theatre in the state of Kentucky. The theatre was designed by noted theatre architect John Eberson with the auditorium being given a Spanish baroque garden theme.

Majestic Theatre, Dallas, Texas, United States

The Majestic Theatre in Dallas is the first of architect John Eberson’s three proto-Atmospheric theatres, in all of which it is clear to see that Eberson was experimenting with the architectural elements that would go on to feature in his first self-proclaimed Atmospheric theatre, the Majestic...

Majestic Theatre, San Antonio, Texas, United States

The Majestic was designed by theatre architect John Eberson, famous for his Atmospheric Theatres throughout the United States. The Majestic was completed in 1929 for the Interstate Theaters Company under the management of Karl Hoblitzelle, and was built on the site of the Royal Theater (1909). It is the fifth theatre in San Antonio to bear the name “Majestic”.

National Theatre, District of Colombia, United States

The National Theatre is located just a few blocks east of the White House and is the second oldest continually operating theatre in the United States, having opened in December 1835. The original brick stagehouse and stone foundations still survive, however the auditorium has undergone multiple rebuilds and renovations during its 180-year history.

Olympia Theater, Miami, Florida, United States

The Olympia Theater was built in downtown Miami on the site of the Airdome Theater – an airdrome being an open-air entertainment venue popular in the United States from the early 1900s through the early 1930s.

Orpheum Theatre, Wichita, Kansas, United States

The Orpheum is the third and final proto-Atmospheric theatre to be designed by architect John Eberson, following the Majestic Theatre in Dallas, Texas, and the Indiana Theatre in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Palace Theatre, Marion, Ohio, United States

The Palace Theatre opened at the end of August 1928 with the movie Excess Baggage (1928) starring William Haines, and vaudeville performances on the stage: the Hamil Sisters, Harry Kahne (a mind reader), and comedy team Tilyou and Rogers. The theatre was built by the Young Amusement Company at a reported cost of $500,000.

Paradise Theater, The Bronx, New York, United States

The 4,000-seat Loew’s Paradise Theatre opened in early September 1929 with The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (1929) starring Warner Oland, in addition to vaudeville acts on the stage and organist Harold Ramsey at the console of the “Wonder Organ”.

Paramount Theatre, Anderson, Indiana, United States

The Paramount Theatre opened in August 1929 and was designed by architect John Eberson in his signature Atmospheric theatre style with a Spanish villa theme. The theatre closed in early 1985 but was extensively renovated and restored, reopening in 1995.

Paramount Theatre, Austin, Texas, United States

The Paramount Theatre opened in October 1915 as the Majestic Theatre, designed as a vaudeville house. It was one of the early theatre designs by noted Chicago theatre architect John Eberson, who would go on to become most associated with his concept of Atmospheric theatres throughout the United States.

Rose Blumkin Performing Arts Center, Omaha, Nebraska, United States

The 2,776-seat Riviera Theatre was built by A.H. (Abraham Harry) Blank, the “cornbelt movie king”, and opened in late March 1927 with a screening of the movie Evening Clothes (1927) starring Adolphe Menjou.

State Theatre, Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States

The 2,000-seat State Theatre was built for W.S. Butterfield Theatres, Inc., an operator of vaudeville theatres in southern Michigan, at a cost of $350,000.

Tabernacle of Prayer for All People, New York, United States

The 3,554-seat Loew’s Valencia opened in early 1929 and was the first of five Loew’s Wonder Theatres to be built in the greater New York City area. Prolific theatre architect John Eberson was chosen to design the theatre in what would be one of his most important and elaborate commissions. Since 1977 the theatre has been home to the Tabernacle of Prayer for All People.

Tampa Theatre, Florida, United States

The Tampa Theatre was designed by noted theatre architect John Eberson, in an Atmospheric style with a Mediterranean courtyard theme. The design featured old world statuary, flowers and shrubbery, stuffed birds, and gargoyles; all set under an artificial nighttime sky featuring twinkling stars. 100 years after its opening it is arguably the best-preserved Atmospheric theatre in the United States.

Uptown Theater, Kansas City, Missouri, United States

The Uptown Theatre opened in early 1928, designed by noted theatre architect John Eberson in his signature Atmospheric theatre style with an Italian garden theme. After having lain dormant for several years, the theatre is now a popular live entertainment venue.

Demolished theatres (all types) designed by John Eberson and featured on this website:

Ambassador’s Theatre, Perth, Western Australia, Australia

The 1,993-seat Ambassador’s Theatre featured designs by noted American theatre architect John Eberson, and opened in late September 1928 featuring Dolores Costello starring in Glorious Betsy (1928).

Annex Theatre, Detroit, Michigan, United States

Originally called the Riviera Annex Theatre, the 1,824-seat theatre opened in early February 1927. The theatre was designed to accommodate overflow crowds from the Grand Riviera Theatre further down the street.

Capitol Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, United States

The Capitol Theatre was located in Chicago’s Auburn Gresham neighborhood. Opened in January 1925, the Capitol Theatre was designed by the famed theatre architect John Eberson. His other Chicago theatres included the Paradise Theatre and the still-remaining Avalon Theatre (now known as the New...

John P. Harris Memorial Theatre, McKeesport, Pennsylvania, United States

The 2,500-seat theatre opened in late April 1929, built as a memorial to the memory of the late Senator John P. Harris (1871–1926).

Loew’s 72nd Street Theatre, New York - Manhattan, New York, United States

Loew’s 72nd Street Theatre was designed by noted architects Thomas W. Lamb and John Eberson, and was the last great movie palace to be built in New York. The design is said to have been based upon the Great Tower of the Pagoda Wat Ching at Bangkok and the Temple of Nakhon Wat in Siam.

Loew’s Valencia, Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Loew’s Valencia started life as a ballroom above the Loew’s Century Theatre, which opened in 1921 designed by architect John J. Zink.

Majestic Theatre, Houston, Texas, United States

Architect John Eberson, building the theatre for Mellie Esperson, declared that the Majestic was the first of a new design of theatres: the Atmospheric Theatre, designed with an Italian garden theme.

Palace Theatre, Gary, Indiana, United States

The 2,500-seat theatre opened in late November 1925, built by Maximillian Dubois’ construction company Max and Sons for Charles J. Wolf and Vern U. Young of the Gary Theatre Company, which already owned the Gary, Orpheum, and Broadway theatres in the city.

Palace Theatre, Flint, Michigan, United States

The Palace Theatre was built for the Butterfield Theaters chain, under the control of Walter S. Butterfield. It opened at the end of August 1917 with a presentation of high-class vaudeville: a mix of musical arrangements by the theatre’s six-piece orchestra, and vaudeville acts headlined by Long...

Paradise Theater, Chicago, Illinois, United States

Impresario Louis Guyon first developed plans for the construction of the enormous movie theatre in the early 1920s. Guyon was a leading West Side entrepreneur whose dream was to create and control the West Side’s largest single concentration of entertainment venues.

Plaza Theatre, Schenectady, New York, United States

The 2,400-seat RKO Plaza Theatre opened in late August 1931 with The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) starring Maurice Chevalier. Joseph Plunkett, vice-president and general manager of RKO Theatres, was master of ceremonies.

Ritz Theatre, Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States

The 1,600-seat theatre opened in May 1926 with Let’s Get Married (1926) starring Richard Dix. It was designed by architect John Eberson in an Atmospheric style with a Mediterranean courtyard theme. Interior decoration was by William A. Hartman of the Michael Angelo studios of Chicago.

Riviera Theatre, Detroit, Michigan, United States

Opened as the Grand Riviera Theatre in late August 1925, the theatre was designed by noted architect John Eberson in an Atmospheric style with a Italian theme, the auditorium resembling a spectacular outdoor palazzo. The theatre took its name from its location on Grand River Avenue.