What is SoWal's knowledge of great theaters in America?

[NoHall]

I put this on the Entertainment thread so I can thank y'all properly as we go...

Last night I went to see a show at Atlanta's Fabulous Fox Theater. It's worth the price of admission just to sit in that beautiful space--absolutely gorgeous.

My young friend who went with me asked me if there were other spaces in the U.S. like the Fox. She and I went to NYC in the fall, and she said that the two theaters we saw were nice, but not as lavish as the Fox. I honestly couldn't tell her for sure. I told her that I supposed that there were, but couldn't think of any off the top of my head. I know that there are some beautiful old opera houses around the country.

So--do other big cities have elaborate old palaces like our Fox? (Here's a link to some of its particulars. Interesting that it would cost upwards of $300 million...)

 

[John R]

Beacon Theatre
Sheridan Opera House
Ryman Auditorium
Wheeler Auditorium
Saenger Theatre Mobile
Saenger Theatre Pensacola

i'm sure many more will be offered

 

[Ocean Lover]

We have two! The first pic is the Palace Theater. Sam always had her big dance recitals here every year. The last one is The Ohio Theatre...more elegant and mesmerizing. We will be there Aug 31 to see The Lion King!

 

[Will B]

The Tivoli in Chattanooga. A lot smaller than The Fox but the same ambience...

 

[TooFarTampa]

It's haunted, it's over-the-top, it's stunning, it's the Tampa Theatre! It belongs near the top of any list of the country's great theaters. Fortunately, it is also government subsidized, or it would have been torn down long ago.

More information at:

http://www.tampatheatre.org/history.php

 

[seahag]

The Fox Theater in St. Louis is one of those grand old theaters, and looks surprisingly similar to the one in Atlanta, from the pictures on your link...even the sign! i wonder if they were built by the same people...

 

[Gypsea]

Pittsburgh has four of note:

Benedum Center for the Performing Arts: http://www.pittsburghsymphony.org/pghsymph.nsf/web/grandlobby.html

Bynham Theater

Carnegie Music Hall

Heinz Hall

 

[Minnie]

Thanks NoHall for starting this thread, we love our theater and I would love to visit some of these others. They are all fantastic.

We have a wonderful one, the Orpheum on Beale Street, orginially built in 1890. When it was converted to the Malco theater, Elvis was an usher there.

Here is more info and photos, and we too have a ghost.

http://www.orpheum-memphis.com/index.cfm?section=theatreinfo

The Orpheum Theater: Where Broadway Meets Beale: "Wicked" comes this Fall, I can't wait.

 

[TooFarTampa]

John Eberson, one of the great theater architects, designed many across the country in conjunction with Paramount and others. (Including the Tampa Theatre and -- hi OL -- the Palace.)

[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Eberson[/ame]

 

[NoHall]

Beacon Theatre
Sheridan Opera House
Ryman Auditorium
Wheeler Auditorium
Saenger Theatre Mobile
Saenger Theatre Pensacola

i'm sure many more will be offered

Links and everything...thanks!

We have two! The first pic is the Palace Theater. Sam always had her big dance recitals here every year. The last one is The Ohio Theatre...more elegant and mesmerizing. We will be there Aug 31 to see The Lion King!

That ceiling...wow...

It's haunted, it's over-the-top, it's stunning, it's the Tampa Theatre! It belongs near the top of any list of the country's great theaters. Fortunately, it is also government subsidized, or it would have been torn down long ago.

More information at:

http://www.tampatheatre.org/history.php

All good theaters are haunted, I think. If I ever decide to haunt a place, y'all have given me a good list of places. (But I plan to spend my afterlife in a place with no election years.)

The Fox was almost razed when I was little. Atlanta Landmarks was created for the sole purpose of saving it. I remember my parents and even my brother saying they had been to events at the Fox before the mid '80s and that it was a rat-hole--my brother said the walls were so covered in dirt and soot (from the heating system and, supposedly, all the years of smokers) that the original colors were barely visible...

The Fox Theater in St. Louis is one of those grand old theaters, and looks surprisingly similar to the one in Atlanta, from the pictures on your link...even the sign! i wonder if they were built by the same people...

I saw that St. Louis had a Fox, and wondered the same thing, but haven't gotten around to investigating...

Thanks NoHall for starting this thread, we love our theater and I would love to visit some of these others. They are all fantastic.

We have a wonderful one, the Orpheum on Beale Street, orginially built in 1890. When it was converted to the Malco theater, Elvis was an usher there.

Here is more info and photos, and we too have a ghost.

http://www.orpheum-memphis.com/index.cfm?section=theatreinfo

The Orpheum Theater: Where Broadway Meets Beale: "Wicked" comes this Fall, I can't wait.

Y'all have all made my day. I figured the Fox wasn't alone in its beauty, but I wasn't sure.

When you look at old theaters and churches, why do you think we have fallen away from the splendor? Money? Laziness? Are we just tacky now?