thumb|The [[Chicago Theatre, designed by the Rapps for Balaban & Katz and completed in 1921.]]

thumb|The [[Uptown Theatre (Chicago)|Uptown Theatre in Chicago, completed in 1925.]]

thumb|[[Shea's Performing Arts Center, originally Shea's Buffalo, completed in 1926.]]

thumb|The [[Paramount Building in Times Square, New York City, completed in 1927.]]

thumb|The [[Old Dearborn Bank Building in Chicago, completed in 1928.]]

thumb|The [[Paramount Theatre (Denver)|Paramount Theatre in Denver, completed in 1930.]]

C. W. & George L. Rapp, commonly known as Rapp & Rapp, was an American architectural firm famed for the design of movie palaces and other theatres. Active from 1906 to 1965 and based in Chicago, the office designed over 400 theatres, including the Chicago Theatre (1921), Bismarck Hotel and Theatre (1926) and Oriental Theater (1926) in Chicago, the Five Flags Center (1910) in Dubuque, Iowa and the Paramount Theatres in New York City (1926) and Aurora, Illinois (1931).

thumb|[[Warner Grand Theater (Milwaukee) Wisconsin built in 1931]]

The named partners were brothers C. Ward Rapp (1860–1926) and George L. Rapp (1878–1941), sons of a builder and natives of Carbondale, Illinois. Their Chicago practice is not to be confused with the Trinidad, Colorado practice of their brothers Isaac H. Rapp (1854–1933) and William M. Rapp (1863–1920) or the notable Cincinnati architects George W. Rapp and Walter L. Rapp, to whom they were not related.

Biographies and history

Cornelius Ward Rapp was born December 26, 1860. In the 1880s he moved to Chicago, where he worked for architect Cyrus P. Thomas. In 1889, the two formed the partnership of Thomas & Rapp. This was dissolved in 1895, when both opened independent offices. Rapp's major projects over the next eleven years included Altgeld Hall (1895–96) and Wheeler Hall (1903–04) at what is now Southern Illinois University Carbondale and the Coles County Courthouse (1898–99) in Charleston. His father was superintendent of construction for both Carbondale buildings. Rapp was an independent practitioner until 1906, when he formed a partnership with his younger brother, George L. Rapp.

George Leslie Rapp was born February 16, 1878. He was educated in the School of Architecture of the University of Illinois, graduating in 1899. He then followed his brother to Chicago, where he joined the office of architect Edmund R. Krause. Of the projects completed by Krause during Rapp's employment, the best known was the Majestic Theatre, now the CIBC Theatre. After seven years with Krause he joined his brother to form the firm of C. W. & George L. Rapp, commonly known as Rapp & Rapp. Following early success with the Five Flags Center in Dubuque, Iowa, the new firm quickly specialized in theatres. In 1917 they began working with the Balaban & Katz chain of movie theatres, a relationship leading to the construction of many early movie palaces. In 1926 Paramount Pictures bought a controlling interest in Balaban & Katz, after which the Rapp office gained a national practice. C. Ward Rapp died the same year, leaving his brother to head the firm. The firm diversified its practice away from theatres during the 1930s, and designed a variety of commercial and industrial projects.

Legacy

The Rapp brothers were among a group of highly influential American theatre architects, which also included Thomas W. Lamb of New York City and John Eberson of Chicago.

  • Old Dearborn Bank Building, also known as 203 North Wabash Street
  • Oriental Theatre, now James M. Nederlander Theatre
  • Palace Theatre
  • Riviera Theatre
  • Tivoli Theatre
  • Uptown Theatre

Other areas

;Denver, Colorado

  • Paramount Theatre

;Aurora, Illinois

  • Paramount Theatre

;Champaign, Illinois

  • Orpheum Theater

;Galesburg, Illinois

  • Orpheum Theater

;Joliet, Illinois

  • Rialto Square Theatre

;Streator, Illinois

  • The Majestic Theatre

;Davenport, Iowa

  • Capital Theater

;Dubuque, Iowa

  • Five Flags Center

;Sioux City, Iowa

  • Orpheum Theatre

;Wichita, Kansas

  • Miller Theater (1922-1972)

;Ashland, Kentucky

  • Paramount Arts Center

;Detroit, Michigan

  • Leland Hotel
  • Michigan Theatre

;Kansas City, Missouri

  • Mainstreet Theater

;St. Louis, Missouri

  • Ambassador Theatre (demolished)
  • St. Louis Theater (now Powell Hall)

;Jersey City, New Jersey

  • Loew's Jersey Theater

;Buffalo, New York

  • Shea's Theatre

;Middletown, New York

  • Paramount Theatre

;New York City

  • 1501 Broadway, Times Square
  • Paramount Theatre, Brooklyn
  • Paramount Theatre, Times Square
  • Kings Theatre, Brooklyn (formerly Loew's Kings Theater)

;Cincinnati, Ohio

  • Palace Theatre (demolished)

;Cleveland, Ohio

  • Palace Theatre

;Youngstown, Ohio

  • Warner Theatre (now DeYor Performing Arts Center)

;Tulsa, Oklahoma

  • Akdar Theatre 1922-1964

;Portland, Oregon

  • Paramount Theatre (now Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall)

;Erie, Pennsylvania

  • Warner Theatre

;Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Loew's Penn Theatre (now Heinz Hall)

;West Chester, Pennsylvania

  • Warner Theatre

;Providence, Rhode Island

  • Loew's State Theatre, now the Providence Performing Arts Center

;Mitchell, South Dakota

  • Corn Palace

;Chattanooga, Tennessee

  • Tivoli Theatre

;Memphis, Tennessee

  • Orpheum Theatre

;Charlottesville, Virginia

  • Paramount Theater

;Seattle, Washington

  • Paramount Theatre

;Baraboo, Wisconsin

  • Al. Ringling Theater

;Madison, Wisconsin

  • Orpheum Theatre (Madison, Wisconsin)

;Milwaukee, Wisconsin

  • Bradley Symphony Center, formerly the Warner Grand Theater
  • Modjeska Theater
  • Uptown Theatre (demolished)
  • Wisconsin Theater (demolished)

;Kenosha, Wisconsin

  • Gateway Theatre, now the Rhode Center for the Arts

;Racine, Wisconsin

  • RKO Main Street Theatre

References

Further reading

  • Charles Ward Rapp, Rapp & Rapp, Architects (2014)
  • Theatre Historical Society of America
  • History of Chicago's Uptown Theatre
  • Friends of the Uptown
  • Balaban and Katz
  • Friends of the Loew's (Jersey Theatre)
  • Rialto Square Theater Official Website
  • 203 North Wabash building website
  • Hotel Warner website
  • Louis Grell Foundation/
  • Architectural records for buildings by Rapp & Rapp, (ca. 1911-1971 (bulk 1911-1959)), held by the Chicago History Museum