Coliseum Theatre

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Uploaded on: December 18, 2014

Camera: Canon Canon MX450 series Network

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1. Charles Lee’s dramatic High Art Deco decor did not last long. By the end of the decade, the auditorium had been toned down considerably, with the organ grilles repainted, and all the wild stenciling covered in plain tones of ochre, gold, and salmon. A woman in a chariot, pulled by a pair of prancing horses–adapted from a pattern book of the period, and barely visible here–obliterated the sunburst on the sounding board over the proscenium, though Lee’s curtains remained. Single nude Greco Deco maidens occupied the paneled bays on the auditorium sidewalls. This decorative scheme remained largely intact until the theatre’s gutting for condominiums and retail, save for the 1960s removal of the organ grilles, and the resulting gaps filled with gold curtains. Oct. 28, 1942 photo by Ted Newman. Jack Tillmany Collection. Posted with permission.