Vaudeville soon shared the stage with the movie screen. But the public’s interest was caught and their fascination grew. William Fox himself, viewed the moving picture flicks as a passing fad. Then, the genius of the motion picture pioneers developed a frame-lined celluloid film and put pictures into motion. Traveling troupes crisss-crossed the United States exhibiting their acts for an entertainment starved nation. The designers of the early theatres included a full stage, dressing rooms, fly and orchestra pit in their plans, because vaudeville was still very much in vogue and movies had not dominated the entertainment scene. It is a magnificent oil painting filling the entire stage opening. The Hanford Theatre’s screen depicts a Spanish village with church bell tower, cypress trees, and terra cotta roofed buildings. The architects designed them to be painted with a large mural incorporating the theme of the auditorium. Very eclectic, yet appropriate.Įach theatre was required to have a fire-proof screen to separate backstage from the audience.
Further back are Mediteranian and Spanish Renaissance influences, but the over all decor is Mission Revival.
Greco-Roman columns support the proscenium. In the shadows rise mountains covered with cypress and palm trees. There are tile covered buildings with lighted windows, balconies and turrets, silhouetted and backlighted by the glow of a village beyond. The locale is a Spanish courtyard, complete with twinkling stars and crescent moon in a dark night sky. This type of theatre, as opposed to the ornate or Art Deco style, is designed to create the illusion of being located in a romantic far-off place. Built by William Fox of Fox Theatres in 1929, and one of 800 across the United States, the Hanford Fox Theatre is designed as an Atmospheric theatre. Even in Hanford, front page coverage of the December 1929 Grand Opening of the Fox Theatre dominated the Christmas holiday news.
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