 When it opened October 26 , 1921 , the 3 @,@ 880 seat theater was promoted as the " Wonder Theatre of the World " . Capacity crowds packed the theater during its opening week for the First National Pictures feature The Sign on the Door starring Norma Talmadge . Other attractions included a 50 @-@ piece orchestra , famed organist Jesse Crawford at the 26 @-@ rank Wurlitzer theatre organ — " Oh , yes , it was mighty , " recalled Orson Welles — and a live stage show . Poet Carl Sandburg , reporting for the Chicago Tribune , wrote that mounted police were required for crowd control . The theater 's strategy of enticing movie patrons with a plush environment and top notch service ( including the pioneering use of air conditioning ) was emulated nationwide . 
