Ticket to Paradise: American Movie Theaters and How We Had Fun
Varied typefaces, colorful layout and reproduced postcards and photos comprise this kitschy tribute to the elaborate cinemas built across the country from 1913 to the mid-'40s. Margolies, an architecture historian, and Gwathmey ( Wholly Cow ) have collected nostalgic reminiscences of early moviegoing experiences from former ushers, a movie pianist, a projectionist, from comic Harold Ramis and producer John Landis, among others. We hear about weekly serials at the silent movies and the Depression-era "Dish Nights" that lured patrons to theaters with gifts of china; illustrations recall elaborate Egyptian theaters, constructed after King Tut's tomb was discovered in the early '20s, and such fabulous landmarks as Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood and the Roxy in New York City.Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.