picture palace

English

a US picture palace in Birmingham, AL

Etymology

From the romantically decorated facades and interiors of the theaters.

Noun

picture palace (plural picture palaces)

1. (UK, dated, historical) An elaborately decorated motion picture theater, principally constructed from 1910 to 1950.
   • 1918 [1915], Thomas Burke, Nights in London‎^[1], New York: Henry Holt and Company, page 75:

     After tea, the bright boys wash, clean their boots, and change into their “second-best” attire, and stroll forth, either to a picture palace or to the second house of the Balham Hippodrome; […]

Synonyms

• (decorated movie theater): movie palace (US)

Further reading

• Movie palace on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Category:Cinemas on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons