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Paradise in the Movie Palace

Designed by renowned architect John Eberson, the Chicago Paradise, which opened in 1928, was one of the grandest of the new movie palaces. Dubbed “the World’s Most Beautiful Theater” by Chicago theater entrepreneurs Balaban and Katz, the Paradise had a half-block-long French-inspired Second Empire exterior, featuring a marquee emblazoned with more than 10,000 light bulbs and a seven-story entrance tower. Patrons entered an outer lobby that had a soaring domed ceiling painted with constellations and clouds. In the vast auditorium, a sculpture of three horses pulling a chariot was set above the proscenium arch, appearing to gallop towards the audience.

Source: Chicago Architectural Photographing Company Collection, Theatre Historical Society of America.

Who Built America? An Open Educational Resource has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and funding from The Ford Foundation, Digital Scholar, and the City University of New York Central Office of Library Services. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this Open Educational Resource, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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