Egyptian Theatre
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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This article is about a genre of US movie theaters. For the original 1922 Hollywood movie palace that inspired the genre - see Grauman's Egyptian Theatre
Egyptian-style theaters are based on the traditional and historic design elements of Ancient Egypt.
The first Egyptian Theatre to be constructed in the US - which inspired many of the identically-named theaters that followed it - was Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, California which opened in October 1922.
Many of the other theaters that copied Grauman's Egyprian Theatre were part of the wave of Egyptian revival architecture that occurred after the November 1922 discovery of King Tut's tomb by Howard Carter.
Unlike the many theaters that followed in its wake, Grauman's Egyptian Theatre was designed, built, named and opened before the 1922 discovery of King Tut's tomb. The news of the tomb's discovery reached the US a few weeks after the theater opened.
Early in the twentieth century, it is estimated that up to 100 of these theater types were constructed across the U.S. Many of them no longer exist, but there are many fine examples of this style still in use today. Conrad Schmitt Studios has played a big part in the restoration of these atmospheric theaters, including Egyptian Theatres in Ogden, Utah, Boise, Idaho, and DeKalb, Illinois.
