ELEGANT REFUGES.

Years ago, the builders of vaudeville theaters and the earliest movie theaters offered more than a place to forget about life for a while.  The buildings would have some sort of exotic theming, the ceiling might have twinkling stars and the outline of a courtyard extending the balcony.  Some of the earliest air conditioning installations were in such theaters.  The arena might give the impression of an Arabian Night, without the heat and humidity.

A few such refuges remain, and Architectural Digest recently identified "The 9 Most Beautiful Historical Movie Theaters in the US."  Somebody could write a book.

“Theaters help bring people together to learn and laugh and just be in community,” says Benita VanWinkle, a photographer and associate professor of visual arts at High Point University in High Point, North Carolina. Theaters are also treasure troves of architectural brilliance, as evidenced in VanWinkle’s soon-to-be-released book America’s Hometown Movie Theaters: Please Remain Standing (Bauer & Dean Publishers, September 2026). The book features 395 theaters, all built before 1965, that VanWinkle has photographed while traveling the country for more than 40 years. In the process, VanWinkle also captured tales of resilience as communities have come together over the decades to preserve historical theaters. Her hope is that they remain, not just for design lovers, but as essential community gathering places. “Theaters have always been these places where we get to see a different version of ourselves and have a place together that doesn’t have judgment,” she says. “Most theaters have places to have discussions, share conversations, be educated, and be entertained.”

It's a challenge to narrow that list to a top nine.  Among the honorees are DeKalb's Egyptian Theatre, one of the few remaining Egyptian-inspired theaters (so inspired by the discovery of King Tut's tomb) in the United States.  The preservation group that own and operate the Egyptian recently installed air conditioning and a visitor center of sorts.  The Al Ringling Theater in Baraboo, Wisconsin, built by the eponymous circus magnate, also merited mention.  Children of all ages and their parents have a variety of offerings to choose among.

What many of the nine theaters have in common is their location in smaller cities, perhaps where the forces of creative destruction did not urge partitioning into multiplexes or replacement by something else.

I might have to look through the book, see if the surviving Milwaukee courtyard-themed theaters merited a photo.