A glittering copper marquee spans the entrance, with backlit green & red stained glass signs bearing the theater’s name. Underneath are solid brass doors with copper frames, and stained glass transom windows of faux "Chartre Blue" surround the foyer. Three large arched windows sit over the marquee. Building materials include marble from
Italy,
Vermont and
Texas, limestone from
Indiana in the lobby, and granite from
Maine to face
Corinthian columns in the auditorium. The interior has a three-story lobby adorned with
trompe l'oeil columns, a broad center staircase inspired by
The Breakers grand staircase, with alabaster balusters, and brass handrails terminated with originally gaslit lamp stands. Velvet drapes once adorned the lobby, and Allegorical paintings by
Hungarian muralist
Willy Pogany originally adorned the vaulted ceiling above the staircase. The larger of two chandeliers, suspended from the second floor, is from the New York's original
Waldorf-Astoria, dating to the 1890s; [source needed] Made in the European style called “Maria Teresa”, it is thirteen feet tall and ten feet wide, and illuminated by 144 bulbs that reflect onto 4,500 hanging “Bohemian crystal” teardrops. A direct gaze up at it reveals its snowflake shape. Beneath the chandelier is the original mosaic compass, chiseled by hand. The floor in the lobby originally was made of white
Terrazzo squares, outlined in gray mosaics. It has since been carpeted over, undisturbed in the renovation.
Movie palace architect
John Eberson contributed the design for the auditorium. Here theatergoers enter the environment of an evening in Venice with a replica of the
Rialto Bridge above the stage. Above the seating is an eighty-five foot ceiling that permits an open sky effect with stars and moving clouds, originally effected by a projecting device called a
"Brenkert Brenograph," costing $290 (in 1920s dollars). Backlit stained glass windows line the walls, with
grottoes, arches and columns simulating a courtyard motif. The original fire curtain continued the Venice effect, with a design that emulated the Venetian coast. On September 26, 27, and 28, 1972,
the Grateful Dead played three concerts at the Stanley Theater which are highly regarded among fans. A recording of the middle show from September 27 was officially released in 1998 as
Dick's Picks Volume 11. ==See also==