Customer Reviews

Theaters (A Norton/Library of Congress Visual Sourcebook)

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I used to be a Home Theater installer, and now that I'm getting to the point in my life where I can start putting my own home theater together, I wanted to be able to develop a plan that reflected the long history of theaters in this country, and adopt many unique architectural features found only in classic theaters. I have searched for months to find a book that could show a broad variety of theaters with enough visual detail to get ideas for my own. I had tried Melnick/Fuchs' "Cinema Treasures", Morrison's "Broadway Theaters", Valentine's "The Show Starts At The Sidewalk", Berger's "The Last Remaining Seats", and Jones' "The Southern Movie Palace" - all excellent books if you are looking for history of theaters. However, they all seemed to be short on the images, which is mostly what I was after (with the exception of Berger's and Melnick/Fuchs' books which I felt had great pictures, just not enough of them...).

When I opened this book, I was pleased to find a CD included many of the images and plan drawings in large format available for me to view! While this book doesn't go into the theater's detail and history as well as the other books in my view, as a visual reference, it is invaluable. I would liken this book to a fine still-life photography expo.

It'd be a shame to limit THEATRES' attraction to architects alone; any with an interest in the stage and theater productions will find this a comprehensive, fascinating survey of the changing history and styles of theaters from early playhouses to modern movie houses. It's the first comprehensive study of American theaters and uses holdings from the Library of Congress to profile a range of styles and settings across the U.S. Blend these archival photos with architectural plans and drawings by artists and you have a powerful visual reference recommended for any serious theater enthusiast.

This is one of the finest black and white picture books on early motion picture and opera houses from around the country.

It is more of a coffee table picture book, but for a researcher, like myself, the book is more in depth than most.

The picture of the Sioux City Orpheum Theater is the initial theater, but the present day Orpheum, is the third to be build on Pierce Street. So it could confuse some individuals. I don't know how many other issues are confusing?

But the theater book overall, is excellent and professionaly done.

Great to have in your library!!!!

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