Window grille, 1929, for the Norris Theatre, Norristown, Pennsylvania

Architects: William Harold Lee and Armand Carroll, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania

Manufacturer: Conkling Armstrong
Glazed terra cotta

XX1989.429

Conceived as part of an imposing three-story entrance to the Norris Theatre in Norristown, Pennsylvania, the window grille is an example of the stylized, decorative treatment that embellished the facades of theatres in America throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Composed of over 100 glazed terra cotta tiles, the rigid geometry of the layout belies the use of a rich, floral decorative scheme. Such architectural decoration was popularized by exposure to the French pavilions at the Paris *Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes* in 1925.

Designed in 1929 by Philadelphia architects William Harold Lee and Armand Carroll, the Norris Theatre was praised upon its opening in 1931 for being "ultra-modern in equipment and decoration."