disappearance of the orchestra on elevators and the same treatment for the organ. In the matter of mechanical installation for the convenience of the public I believe the United States leads the world. When it comes to the architectural expression the promoters of these great movie houses set up as their goal the most gorgeous foyers in architectural history and the decoration of the auditorium usually includes about every pattern that may be found in the catalog of plaster relief companies and these patterns so extensively applied that hardly any plain surface remains. Then comes the color and this must, generally speaking, be equally stunning.
But is this cultivating good taste? Is it not an application of trite and threadbare forms applied ad infinitum over endless fields of wall surface without thought of whether the ensemble is fine and represents the best thought of the art? It seems to me the work is largely a reflex of the common attitude that it pays to advertise, and that we are the greatest advertisers in the world goes without saying. As an instance of this national weakness I refer to the official publication for all events at the “World s Largest Stadium” in America’s second largest city where the public authorities give out with the program of each event taking place in the Stadium a pamphlet from which the following lines are quoted: “Imagine, if you can, civilization, as we know it, perishing from the earth, Chicago laid waste and covered with the dust of ages, just as other civilizations and other cities, Babylon,
Carthage, Rome, have fallen. The archaeologist burrowing 10,000 years from now on the shore of the great inland lake where once the imperial city of Chicago stood, as he unearthed the majestic colonnades of what, in 1926 constituted Soldier Field Stadium, would be impressed and would go into the silence to write huge tomes about the grandeur of Chicago in those days.” And so on for many paragraphs.
The small houses for legitimate drama are not open to this criticism. There dignified elegance and refinement are more common. The projectors of movie palaces, however, appeal to the mass and for that reason carry a greater responsibility in the molding of public taste. This responsibility, I fear, rests very lightly upon their shoulders. The only thing that counts, it would seem, is the return in dollars and cents and, perhaps, that is a national trait. We are the richest nation in the world, and we insist upon telling the world that we are. It is here that the question of culture comes into play. In the spirit of braggadocio, pride of achievement and parading the achievement before the multitude are characteristic of a pioneer country. We revel in our youth. A certain “jazziness” is common to our age, perhaps, but is particularly virulent with the irresponsible.
In comparing the manifestations in theater planning in modern German houses with our own creations, one must realize the difference in the attitude of mind of the present day German architect, his
THE JAHRHUNDERTHALLE, BRESLAU
MAX BERG, ARCHITECT
But is this cultivating good taste? Is it not an application of trite and threadbare forms applied ad infinitum over endless fields of wall surface without thought of whether the ensemble is fine and represents the best thought of the art? It seems to me the work is largely a reflex of the common attitude that it pays to advertise, and that we are the greatest advertisers in the world goes without saying. As an instance of this national weakness I refer to the official publication for all events at the “World s Largest Stadium” in America’s second largest city where the public authorities give out with the program of each event taking place in the Stadium a pamphlet from which the following lines are quoted: “Imagine, if you can, civilization, as we know it, perishing from the earth, Chicago laid waste and covered with the dust of ages, just as other civilizations and other cities, Babylon,
Carthage, Rome, have fallen. The archaeologist burrowing 10,000 years from now on the shore of the great inland lake where once the imperial city of Chicago stood, as he unearthed the majestic colonnades of what, in 1926 constituted Soldier Field Stadium, would be impressed and would go into the silence to write huge tomes about the grandeur of Chicago in those days.” And so on for many paragraphs.
The small houses for legitimate drama are not open to this criticism. There dignified elegance and refinement are more common. The projectors of movie palaces, however, appeal to the mass and for that reason carry a greater responsibility in the molding of public taste. This responsibility, I fear, rests very lightly upon their shoulders. The only thing that counts, it would seem, is the return in dollars and cents and, perhaps, that is a national trait. We are the richest nation in the world, and we insist upon telling the world that we are. It is here that the question of culture comes into play. In the spirit of braggadocio, pride of achievement and parading the achievement before the multitude are characteristic of a pioneer country. We revel in our youth. A certain “jazziness” is common to our age, perhaps, but is particularly virulent with the irresponsible.
In comparing the manifestations in theater planning in modern German houses with our own creations, one must realize the difference in the attitude of mind of the present day German architect, his
THE JAHRHUNDERTHALLE, BRESLAU
MAX BERG, ARCHITECT