chicago theater's balaban & katz highly thematic massive art glass window

documenting rapp and rapp's chicago theater (1921) today was nothing short of sensory overload. my camera crawled over so many intricate fixtures, and i was engulfed in a sea of ornamental plasterwork - both in the lobby and auditorium (see previous posts for a discussion of the terra cotta facade). when i began sorting through the 600+ images i captured during my two hour visit there, i decided to focus first on the massive art glass window. thanks to my telephoto and wide lenses, i was able to capture both the fine detail and wider context in which the window resides. the images below represent both ends of the spectrum.

the chicago theater (1921) was designed  in the french baroque style, with a cream-colored terra cotta facade accentuated by a small replica of paris' arc de triomphe, positioned directly above the illuminated horizontal marquee. the triumphal arch - measuring sixty feet wide and six stories high - contains a gridded clear plate glass wall divided by steel muntins. the centerpiece is comprised of a brilliantly colored leaded art glass medallion featuring the balaban and katz movie chain's highly symbolic "coat of arms," with opposed rearing horses, film strips, foliage and a border consisting of film reels in pressed glass rondels. the exact fabricator of the stained glass window is not known. although some sources point toward tiffany as the maker, it's highly unlikely.

documentation of the chicago theater's elaborate and richly detailed ornamental plasterwork, executed by the decorators' supply company (chicago, ills.), will be examined in an upcoming post.