Stanley Theater
title: Casa Italiana
title: Father Vincent Monella Center of Italian Culture at Seton Hall University
subject: theaters (buildings)
description: The Stanley Theater is located in the Vailsburg section of Newark and was commissioned by the Stanley-Fabian company. Designed by local architect Frank Grad in the "atmospheric" style, this theater is important because it exemplifies a stage of movie-going experience that relied on architectural effects and trompe l'oeil to allude to the fantasy of the cinematic medium. The front facade and the whole theater are based on recreating a Spanish atmosphere. At the front facade, the central bay is articulated through its shaped gable that culminates in a broken bonnet parapet. The front entrance is covered with a prominent marquee suspended from two rods springing from terra-cotta oculi. The decorations in terra-cotta extend to the arcuated gallery colonnettes on side bays and solomonic columns framing side entrances. Wood brackets support overhanging eaves while above them extends a mission-tile covered roof. Inside, the theater is well-known for its lavish decorations and thematization, with a main auditorium that has a distinctive proscenium arch. Here, there is a clear similarity with the Stanley theater of Jersey City.
creator: Frank Grad
date: 1927