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20-561: John Eberson , a nationally notable architect, designed the theater in 1926 as an example of the "atmospheric" theater popular during the 1920s. In a style created by Eberson, these atmospheric theaters simulated romantic outdoor Mediterranean courtyards with a night sky above, including twinkling stars and drifting clouds. The exterior of the building features a large copper domed tower, flanked by two smaller towers of similar detailing. The diamond-patterned brick facades contain oriel windows, elaborate cornices, glazed terra-cotta tile copings, and

40-533: A series of free-standing columns which support griffins. The theater was built by A. H. Blank . Noted for lavish stage shows combined with movies, the theater was regarded as one of the most elegant entertainment facilities in the Midwest and had 2,776 seats. After opening March 26, 1927, someone commented that the Riviera Theatre "makes every man feel like a millionaire for 60 cents". A parade featuring

60-493: The 17th Infantry Regiment was held to celebrate its opening. In 1929, unable to meet the $ 13,000 weekly costs and experiencing financial losses, Blank sold it to Paramount Pictures and the theater was renamed the Paramount. It had multiple closures including in 1934, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941 and 1942. Paramount installed a minitiature golf course in the lower lobby to attract customers. In June 1952 it stopped showing films but

80-798: The Paramount Theatre (1929), the State Theater (Kalamazoo, Michigan) 1927, and the Lewis J. Warner Memorial Theater (1932) at Worcester Academy in Worcester, Massachusetts . Remaining international examples in the atmospheric style include both the Capitol Theatre (1928) and State Theatre (1929) in Sydney, Australia , The Forum (1929, Melbourne, Australia ) and Le Grand Rex (1932, Paris, France ). John Adolf Emil Eberson

100-871: The Rodin Studios , 200 West Fifty-seventh Street. In July 1929, he made the decision to close the Chicago office and consolidate all of the design work in New York. At about the same time, he formally brought his son Drew Eberson (1904–1989) into the business, although Drew had helped before on many sites. Drew became his partner and carried on the business after his father's death. Eberson attained national, and even international acclaim for his atmospheric theatres, many of them executed in exotic revival styles, including Italian Renaissance , Spanish Revival , Moorish Revival and others. Eberson began his theatre design work with traditional, small town opera houses. One of

120-583: The art deco and streamline moderne styles. In all, Eberson designed close to 100 movie palaces, located in dozens of states in the United States, including: Other theatres were designed in Mexico City, Mexico , Perth , Sydney and Melbourne , Australia. A significant number of his estimated 500 buildings, and including an estimated 100 atmospheric theatres, have been destroyed. Many were victims of redevelopment; changing taste came to consider

140-789: The atmospheric theatre style. Eberson himself credited the Hoblitzelle Majestic Theatre (Houston, 1923, razed) as the first atmospheric style theatre. Clearly, Eberson tried out some of his concepts at the Orpheum Theatre (Wichita, Kansas) (1922) and the Indiana Theatre (Terre Haute, Indiana) (1922). However, with the Houston Majestic he perfected the style, adding features that made the departure from all that came before. Many of Eberson's later designs, some executed with his son Drew, were in

160-717: The Astro Theatre was sold by Creighton University to Rose Blumkin of the Nebraska Furniture Mart on June 24, 1981. In the early 1990s it was renovated and transformed into the Rose Blumkin Performing Arts Center; it became the home of the Omaha Theater Company, which began performing there in 1995. Official website John Eberson John Adolph Emil Eberson (January 2, 1875 – March 5, 1954)

180-728: The Fort Worth Majestic (Fort Worth, Texas, 1911) and the Austin Majestic (Austin, Texas, 1915) . Neither was ground-breaking in design, and neither was in the atmospheric style. He first experimented with atmospheric design at the Dallas Majestic (1921), the Indiana Theatre (Terre Haute) (1922) and the Orpheum Theatre (Wichita, Kansas) (1922). It was in the design of the Houston Majestic (1923) that Eberson created his first full atmospheric theatre. In 1926 Eberson moved to New York City . He opened an office at

200-621: The Hippodrome and Indiana Theatres. Terre Haute is one of the few places in the world to boast multiple Eberson buildings, including his only residential design. Eberson designed the Central National Bank , a 23-story art deco skyscraper in Richmond, Virginia (completed in 1929). Eberson helped with the war effort during World War II. He designed a hospital on Long Island , and housing at Fort Monmouth , New Jersey and at

220-550: The United States in 1901, sailing on a ship that left Bremerhaven . He arrived in New York City, and traveled to settle in St. Louis . His first work there was with an electrical contracting company. Within a few years, he affiliated with Johnson Realty and Construction Company, a theatre architecture and construction company. Eberson and Johnson traveled around the eastern part of America, promoting opera houses in small towns. Once

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240-518: The first designs was in Hamilton, Ohio, where he and his family lived. Theatre historian David Naylor described Eberson as "an architectural Johnny Appleseed for Sunbelt theater-goers." He designed traditional opera houses and theatres throughout the South. In the 1920s, beginning with the Hoblitzelle Majestic Theatre (Houston, 1923, razed), Eberson perfected a new theatre design, which became known as

260-516: The style dated, and the rise of television reduced the demand for theaters with very large auditoriums, with newer business models calling for several smaller auditoriums on one site to allow the screening of several pictures simultaneously rather than just one. Eberson and his architectural firm also designed other buildings. His earliest commission was in Hamilton, Ohio, where the Ebersons made their home beginning in 1904. His first commissioned job

280-402: The theater productions during the winter were not that successful and it closed again. In August 1953 its owner, Tristates, decided to sell or demolish it. In 1957, Paramount vacated the lease to Creighton University . Closed for several years, it was later leased to J.S.B. Amusement, and after renovations, was operated as a bowling alley. After only a year of operation, the building once again

300-411: The town was persuaded to build an opera house, Eberson would design it and Johnson would build it. It was in this pursuit that Eberson took the title "Opera House John." Eberson married Beatrice Lamb (1885–1954) in 1903. She immigrated from Great Britain, and was an interior decorator. They had three children, Drew, Lora Mary and Elsa. In 1904, Eberson and his family moved to Hamilton, Ohio . It

320-513: Was an Austrian-American architect best known for the development and promotion of movie palace designs in the atmospheric theatre style. He designed over 500 theatres in his lifetime, earning the nickname "Opera House John". His most notable surviving theatres in the United States include the Tampa Theatre (1926), Palace Theatre Marion (1928), Palace Theatre Louisville (1928), Majestic Theatre (1929), Akron Civic Theatre (1929),

340-723: Was born in Czernowitz , Bukovina , Austria-Hungary , now south western Ukraine, on January 2, 1875. He was the son of Sigfried and Lora (Schmidt) Eberson. He attended high school in Dresden , Saxony and studied electrical engineering at the University of Vienna . After completing his studies in 1896, Eberson joined the Fourteenth Hussaren Regiment of the Austrian Army. Eberson immigrated to

360-522: Was remodeled to return it to a theater. It reopened as a movie theater in 1962 with a new name, the Astro Theatre, run by Dubinsky Brothers and with a reduced capacity of 1,465. It continued operations until June 1980. In 1974 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places and in October 1980 it was listed as an Omaha landmark . Closed and once again facing possible demolition,

380-483: Was that same year, when he designed an Ionic-columned porch for Mrs. Sheehan, a Hamilton resident, for which he received $ 20. Terre Haute, Indiana is home of Eberson's Indiana Theatre, and to one of Eberson's earliest theaters, the Hippodrome Theatre , which opened in 1915. Branching out from his usual theater design, Eberson also designed the home of Theodore W. Barhydt, the man who commissioned Eberson for

400-555: Was there that Eberson's first theatre was located, the Hamilton Jewel. The 350-seat Jewel was constructed in an existing, pre-Civil War building. While in Hamilton, Eberson designed local buildings, and continued his opera house design work. The Ebersons moved to Chicago in 1910. In Chicago, Eberson was able to increase his theatre architectural commissions. An early client was Karl Hoblitzelle's Interstate Amusement Company. The first two theatres he designed for Hoblitzelle were

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