what tradesmen left behind in the attic of john eberson's 1927 persian atmospheric regal theater

i began documenting john eberson's atmospheric avalon theater (1927) early last week, and many additional visits lie on the horizon. aside from embarking on the creation of a visual record of the theater's interior and exterior ornament, i managed to spend time in the attic. there i found several mazda light bulb boxes, piled high around the electric "stars" embedded in the ceiling. when i stumbled upon a few milk bottles and a complete newspaper - dated november 10th, 1926, i knew that all of this must have been left behind by a tradesmen (as the theater's interior was under construction for its grand opening on august 29th, 1927).

in addition, i was pleased to find a spare "star" cone, along with major equipment spot lights, colored glass lenses, and light assembly instructions along the walls nearly twenty feet away from the catwalks. careful maneuvering, coupled with proper rigging allows me to explore areas in these theater attics that haven't been accessed since tradesmen completed their work here, which in this case was in november of 1926. like the many other projects currently on my plate, i will continue to update with additional images and information when time permits.

the avalon regal (originally the avalon theater, and later the new regal theater) lies just off the i-90 skyway in chicago's  south side. the theater opened as the avalon theater in 1927, when the community was known as avalon park, then a predominantly german, swedish and irish neighborhood. in the 1960s, with an influx of african american families, local culture began a transformation and new locals began taking advantage of this historic gem for their  musical and artistic ends.

architecturally, the avalon regal's atmospheric moorish revivalist theme was conceived by austrian-born architect john eberson, who was nationally known for his exotic motifs. stepping through the theater's doors, visitors are transported to an exotic and lavishly decorated far-off land. this sense of escape from the real world is exactly the point of these atmospheric theaters. such grand palaces of leisure offered respite and entertainment to the public, in the decades before television screens became ubiquitous.

eberson pioneered this design style, and his plans for the avalon theater were said to have been inspired by a persian incense burner he found at an antique store. the lobby is bedecked with colored tiles underneath a flying carpet ceiling, set with gemstones that glistened as they moved, blown by the innovative air conditioning system. passing from the lobby to the enormous auditorium was like walking out of a palace and into an outdoor bazaar at night, with a tent over the stage and screen. more than 2,000 guests could gaze under a simulated night sky, complete with twinkling lights as stars. someone could completely forget their place in the world after a double feature in such a grand and unusual space. rather than seating the theatre patrons in a boxlike formal setting, as passive observers of stage entertainment, the atmospheric design transported them to an exotic european courtyard or garden.

the cerulean sky, with accurately depicted intricate starry constellations also featured wispy floating clouds, produced by a projector and replacing the ornate domes of traditional theatre design. rather than crystal chandeliers and gilt ornamentation there were arches, trellises, balconies and statuary to evoke a sense of the outdoors. other ornamentation included trees, palms and vines and even taxidermy birds. as the stars twinkled above, the audience felt a sense of infinite space; when the entertainment was about to begin the lighting effects created an illusion of the setting sun, as colors changed from yellow to red to mauve. the atmospheric theatre design made the patron an active, comfortable resident of an imaginary time and place, not a passive, aloof occupant of an oppressive formal space

the avalon theater was in business until the late 1970's. then the building served as the home of the miracle temple church until becoming a performing arts venue once again in 1987. at that time, the theater was renamed in honor of the old regal theater across town in bronzeville, a cultural center for chicago's african american community that was demolished in 1973; the avalon regal received chicago landmark status in 1992. the former owners of the new regal theater, edward and bettianne gardner, closed the theater in 2003 after losing money for several years. it reopened again under new ownership in 2008, but didn't serve much purpose except to host a party to celebrate barack obama's presidential nomination acceptance speech in august of that year. the theater was foreclosed on in 2011 and bought again in 2014 by the newly dubbed chicago regal foundation, planning to recreate pivotal moments in entertainment history using holographic stage technology.

the images below represent a small collection of objects discovered in the regal theater's attic during a truncated sweep of areas in and around the maze of catwalks "floating" above the plaster ceiling. the extreme heat and lack of sufficient lighting forced the search to a grinding halt shortly after it began. still though, enough objects were discovered, recorded and photographed to begin this "lost and found" theater tradesmen narrative.

--a special thanks to jerald gary for providing me access to document this historically important theater--