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Theatre Architects

Here you can find out about the architect firms and individual architects associated with the theatres featured on this website.

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John E.O. Pridmore

Born: 1867 (England)

Died: 1940 (Chicago, Illinois)

John Edmund Oldaker Pridmore was a British-American architect, best known for his theatre designs.

Pridmore was born in England and educated in Birmingham. He immigrated to the United States in 1880, moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1883. Pridmore apprenticed as an architect for the next seven years.

He founded his own studio in 1890, partnering with Leon Stanhope for six years starting in 1893. Pridmore designed a number of apartment buildings in the Woodlawn, Austin, Edgewater, and Logan Square neighborhoods. However, he became known as a prominent designer of theatres and churches.

In 1901, he designed the Bush Temple of Music at the intersection of Clark Street and Chicago Avenue. From 1909 to 1911, Joseph W. McCarthy studied under him.

In 1918, he designed the Midway Theater in Rockford. The State Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota opened in 1921. Also that year, his Victory Theatre in Evansville, Indiana opened. He died on 1st February 1940 at the age of 75.

Information in part sourced from Wikipedia .