Let's All Go to the Movie Theater

They don't make movie theaters like they used to. Oh sure, the projector's now some high-def, 3-D piece of equipment, and the speakers can shake the fillings right out of your mouth, and that's all very impressive. But the building itself? Looks like something you'd get in a Snap-Tite kit. Once upon a time the movie theater was a building worthy of a fine architect, such as your Adler & Sullivan or John Eberson. They designed buildings that swept you out of this hum-drum world and into a fantastic land of make believe, and that was before the picture even started. Palace Builders: Great Architects from the Golden Age of Theatres, the current exhibition at the Sheldon (3648 Washington Boulevard; 314-533-9900 or www.thesheldon.org), features photographs and artists' renditions of the great movie houses of the halcyon era, as well as actual artifacts from theaters such as the Pitkin in Brooklyn, Chicago's Belmont and the Fox Theatre in St. Louis. Hey, wait a minute...Palace Builders remains on display through Saturday, January 25, and the gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is free.
Tuesdays-Saturdays. Starts: Oct. 4. Continues through Jan. 25, 2013