1952 James Stewart Carbine Williams Card

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A 1952 James Stewart Carbine Williams Card. Movie theaters were originally called movie palaces. They were known for being rather … Read more A 1952 James Stewart Carbine Williams Card. Movie theaters were originally called movie palaces. They were known for being rather extravagant in design in order to attract as many paying customers as possible. The appeal of the first few movie palaces that were built spurred a boom of buildings from 1914 to 1922. There were 4,000 new theaters in the United States built during that time. Impressive lobbies with rich European décor were intended to give moviegoers the feeling of being royalty and be an escape from the day-to-day world.

The Depression and World War II drastically changed the way theaters were built. The Depression-era theaters were decorated in Art Deco style and were simple compared to the palaces of the 1910s and 20s, although they were still meant to impress customers. The function of World War II-era theaters was as a place to view newsreels about the war and learn about bond drives. See less