Customer Reviews

Movie Palaces: Survivors of an Elegant Era

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Photographer Ave Pildas gives movie palace buffs a book filled with photographs of many theatre buildings throughout the United States. About half of the photos are of theatres in the Los Angeles area while the other half are of theatres in other states. There is some information on the general history of movie palaces, but the main purpose of this book are the color photos of the exterior and interior of these fantastic buildings. The book has been out-of-print for years(It was published in 1980) but if you are interested in movie theatres, you will not go wrong if you can track down a copy of this book. Highly recommended.

This book is a fabulous collection of color photos of movie theatre exteriors, interiors, and box offices all around the country. It includes a striking two page spread of Graumann's Chinese (now Mann's Chinese) in Hollywood, probably the most famous of them all. Shot in the 70's and 80's, these photos depict many structures that have since disappeared. Elegant, ornate, and colorful, they speak of the day when seeing a movie was the premiere modern entertainment experience. What a striking contrast to the "multiplexes", the tiny characterless cubes, in which we view movies today!

This book is beautifully designed, and bears a fascinating introductory text and forward.