The glowing neon marquees with readerboards announcing weekly features, the box offices not manned by machines, the stage that could have just as easily been the setting for an opera as it could your Friday night film– these are things we can rarely expect from ‘movie night’ anymore.
Above: Roxy, Northampton, Pennsylvania/ Below: Tampa, Tampa, Florida
Before flicking through NetFlix takes over our movie nights entirely, photographer Stefanie Klavens has been busy documenting 20th century iconic movie palaces. She has tracked down America’s most beautiful theatres, travelling across the country. At some theatres, she was simply shown where the light switches were by management and left to her own devices surrounded by empty seats. Others were demolished before she could even reach them.
Egyptian, Delta, Colorado
This is her ode to the movie night of yesteryear, a series of vanishing historic theatres, exploring “the history of architecture and design, the evolution of our social history and habits, and the importance of preserving a record of the past”.
Alex, Glendale, California
Crest, Sacramento, California
Sands, Brush, California
Fox, Sidney, Nebraska
Fox, Trinidad, Colorado
Tower, LA, California
Somervilla, MA
State, LA, California.
Kallet, Oneida, NY
Palace, LA, California
Silvermoon, Lakeland, Florida
Starlite, Christianburg, Virginia
The Senator, Baltimore, MA
Discover all of Stefanie Klavens’ movie theatres here.
