An atmospheric theatre is a type of movie palace design which was popular in the late 1920s. Atmospheric theatres were designed and decorated to evoke the feeling of a particular time and place for patrons, through the use of projectors, architectural elements and ornamentation that evoked a sense of being outdoors. This was intended to make the patron a more active participant in the setting. The most successful promoter of the style was John Eberson. He credited the Hoblitzelle Majestic Theatre (Houston, 1923) as the first. Before the end of the 1920s he designed around 100 atmospheric theatres in the U.S. and a few other countries, personally selecting the furnishings and art objects. His most notable surviving theatres in the United States include the Tampa Theatre (1926), Palace Theatre (1928), Majestic Theatre (1929), Paramount Theatre (1929), and the Loew's Theatre (1929). Remaining international examples include The Civic Theatre (1929, Auckland, New Zealand), The Forum (1929, Melbourne, Australia), as well as two theatres completed in Sydney, Australia, the Capitol Theatre (1928) and State Theatre (1929) (both designed by Henry Eli White with assistance from Eberson), and Le Grand Rex, (1932, Paris, France) which was designed by architect Auguste Bluysen with assistance from Eberson. Atmospheric theatres in the United States Designed by John Eberson John Eberson was the most successful promoter and designer of the atmospheric style. The following seventeen of his atmospheric theatres in the United States are still in operation. . Marcus Loew (1870-1927) was a pioneer in the film industry and founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Due to the economic circumstances of his family, he had to work early and leave school at the age of nine. In 1920 he bought Metro Pictures Corporation and in 1924 Goldwyn Picture Corporation and merged them to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). New Regal Theater (originally Avalon Theater) (Chicago) Moorish Revival Akron Civic Theatre (Akron, Ohio) The theater was built in 1929 by Marcus Loew and designed by theater architect John Eberson. It opened as Loew's (Akron) Theatre and seats 3,000 people. The auditorium is designed to resemble a night in a Moorish garden. Twinkling stars and drifting clouds travel across the domed ceiling. Located on Akron's South Main Street, the theater's entrance lobby extends over the Ohio and Erie Canal. The theater has a small multicolored terra cotta façade dominated by a large marquee. The interior of the entrance and lobby is designed to resemble a