They don't build theatres like this anymore. (5 shots)

[Curtis N]

These are from the beautiful Coronado Theatre in Rockford, Illinois, US. Their website says, "Originally built in 1927 as a movie house, the Coronado Theatre underwent an 18-month restoration project, opening again in 2001 as a first-class performing arts and entertainment center. The theater, which is located at 314 North Main Street in Rockford, hosts concerts and entertainment events, including national touring productions, Broadway shows, and performances by the Rockford Symphony Orchestra."

These aren't "proper" architectural shots. We only had a few minutes to get these before the house opened. Becky's were shot handheld with her 300D at ISO 1600 (I was hogging the tripod).

This is the view of the stage from the top of the nosebleed section.
http://performancephoto.us/images/POTN/IMG_1988NN.jpg

One of the light fixtures:
http://performancephoto.us/images/POTN/IMG_1987NN.jpg

Becky took these last three. The lobby and mezzanine are just as ornate.
http://performancephoto.us/images/POTN/CRW_1232.jpg

http://performancephoto.us/images/POTN/CRW_1230.jpg

http://performancephoto.us/images/POTN/CRW_1227.jpg

[Maureen Souza]

That is a gorgeous place, Curtis!! Nice indoor shots, beautiful colors and lighting.

[bikerider]

Nice shots of a very ornate theatre, it's almost identical to one where I grew up, called The Civic Theatre in Newcastle NSW. I've been to quite a few concerts there over the years, fantastic accoustics. Good to see these old places being used, thanks for posting.
Roger.

[Curtis N]

Thanks, Maureen & Roger.

The place really fell into disrepair in the 1990's, with backstage conditions so terrible that some big-name acts refused to perform there. With the restoration came state-of-the-art lighting, sound and fly systems, remodelled dressing rooms and a host of other improvements, to make it the world-class venue that it was meant to be.

[René Damkot]

Very nice. Petty some shots were taken without tripod: The noise is distracting here. Also some pictures would benefit from straightening them a bit (keystoneing)

[Curtis N]

Thanks, Rene'.
I agree with your comments and I do hope we get another chance to shoot in there when we have more time. I'm also thinking that some fill flash might help to reduce the dynamic range, helping to bring out more of the detail without destroying the affects of the house lighting.

[sam walker]

Great shots of history. Cleveland Ohio did the same thing several years back with 3 old movie houses the Palace,State and Allen theatres. Today it's called playhouse square. A place to go for Broadway performances, music and Ballet. Very successful and all the architecture is preserved.
Sam

[MattL]

That place looks amazingly like our flagship theatre, the Civic, in Auckland, New Zealand. Check out their 360degree view here (http://www.the-edge.co.nz/venue/images/Civic_S.mov)

Great shots!

[Mills]

Nice shots. It is great to see these wonderful old theaters restored. They have done most of them here in Chicago and it is like stepping into another time when you walk through their doors.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Stunning theatre!
So so so glad to hear that it has had a facelift and restoration! :)

[fensterbme]

Really well done photos... indeed it's great to see rooms like this get a second lease on life.

[Riff Raff]

That's beautiful. It reminds me a lot of the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio: http://www.majesticempire.com/tour_majestic.html. It opened in 1929 (so very much the same era as this building) and has a domed ceiling with twinkling stars (pin lights) and clouds drifting across, projected by cloud machines. One impressive venue.

[blackshadow]

Awesome looking old theatre and great to see it restored to its former glory. The pics are pretty good too!

I now feel inspired to take some proper shots of The Forum in Melbourne if I can sometime - a beautiful old theatre that has lots of fancy stonework and ancient Greek/Roman style statues. Unfortunately the only time I am there is to shoot gigs (will be shooting one on Friday and have Motorhead and Nick Cave coming up there in October) and the lighting is dim and it's crowded so planting a tripod down is impossible.

[Harleypugs]

Reminds me a bit of the Fox theatre in Atlanta GA.

Nice shots!

Jon

[S.Horton]

Oh, NICE!

;)

[Grace]

gorgeous...

[thelightofsound]

Reminds me a bit of the Fox theatre in Atlanta GA.

Nice shots!

Jon

the fox in atlanta is my first (theater) love; however, there are a lot around the country. i love it when bands do a theater type tour, playing only nice theaters like this. ben harpers next tour will be like this.

nice shots. i'ld love to see a second try with some fill flash.