Pabst Theater
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Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
, U.S. Colloquially known as "the Pabst", the theater hosts about 100 events per year. Built in 1895, it is the fourth-oldest continuously operating theater in the United States, and has presented such notables as pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
, actor Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
, and ballerina Anna Pavlova, as well as the majority of current big-name musical acts.
The Pabst is known for its opulence as well as its role in German-American
German American
German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry and comprise about 51 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group...
culture in Milwaukee. It is officially designated a City of Milwaukee Landmark and a State of Wisconsin Historical Site
Historic site
A historic site is an official location where pieces of political, military or social history have been preserved. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have recognized with the official national historic site status...
, and was also designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1991. http://cinematreasures.org/theater/2753/ It is sometimes called the "Grande Olde Lady", being the oldest theater in Milwaukee's theater district.
The Pabst is a traditional proscenium
Proscenium
A proscenium theatre is a theatre space whose primary feature is a large frame or arch , which is located at or near the front of the stage...
stage theater with two balconies, for a total capacity of 1,345 people. It hosts approximately 100 events per year, including music, comedy, dance, opera, and theater events. http://arts.state.wi.us/static/wpn_dir/wpn_44.htm The theater also has a hydraulic
Hydraulics
Hydraulics is a topic in applied science and engineering dealing with the mechanical properties of liquids. Fluid mechanics provides the theoretical foundation for hydraulics, which focuses on the engineering uses of fluid properties. In fluid power, hydraulics is used for the generation, control,...
orchestra pit
Orchestra pit
An orchestra pit is the area in a theater in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music or in cases when incidental music is required...
, adding to its suitability for virtually any performing arts event. The auditorium itself is drum-shaped and is decorated in reds and maroons with gold and silver accents. A large, 2-ton Austrian crystal
Crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography...
chandelier
Chandelier
A chandelier is a branched decorative ceiling-mounted light fixture with two or more arms bearing lights. Chandeliers are often ornate, containing dozens of lamps and complex arrays of glass or crystal prisms to illuminate a room with refracted light...
hangs over the auditorium. The theater also boasts a staircase crafted from white Italian Carrara marble and a proscenium arch highlighted in gold leaf
Gold leaf
right|thumb|250px|[[Burnishing]] gold leaf with an [[agate]] stone tool, during the water gilding processGold leaf is gold that has been hammered into extremely thin sheets and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades...
, which frames the stage.
History
BrewerBrewing
Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...
Frederick Pabst
Frederick Pabst
Frederick Pabst was a German-American brewer who founded the Pabst Brewing Company.-Early life:Johann Gottlieb Friedrich Pabst was born on March 28, 1836, in the village of Nikolausrieth, then in the Province of Saxony, in the Kingdom of Prussia...
had built Das Neue Deutsche Stadt-Theater (The New German City Theater) in 1890, but it was destroyed in a fire. Pabst ordered it rebuilt at once, and The Pabst Theater opened in 1895.
The Pabst was designed by architect Otto Strack in the tradition of European opera houses and the German Renaissance
German Renaissance
The German Renaissance, part of the Northern Renaissance, was a cultural and artistic movement that spread among German thinkers in the 15th and 16th centuries, which originated from the Italian Renaissance in Italy...
Revival style. He made it one of the most fire-proof theaters of its day, as well as one of the most opulent.
The Pabst played an important role in the German American culture of early 20th century Milwaukee, when the city was called "Deutsch Athen" (German Athens). It was home to the German theater company for many years, but later began including performances from of other nationalities.
The Pabst has undergone several renovations, the first of which was in 1928. In 1976, it was restored to its original style. In 1989, a colonnade
Colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade denotes a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building....
was added to connect the theater to the Milwaukee Center
Milwaukee Center
The Milwaukee Center is a 28-story, postmodern high-rise building in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The building was completed in 1988, during a small building boom in Milwaukee that also included 100 East Wisconsin. Until 100 East was completed, the Milwaukee Center was the second tallest building in...
. The latest renovations took place in 2000; elevators were added, the ventilation system was modernized, more bathrooms were added, and some seats were replaced. The theater also added Cudahy’s Irish Pub to the lobby.
As the Pabst Theater was designed after the best German Opera Houses, the acoustics are outstanding.
Technological innovations
Otto Strack employed many technological innovations when designing the theater, including one of the country's first fire curtainSafety curtain
A safety curtain is a fire safety precaution used in large proscenium theatres. It is usually a heavy fibreglass or iron curtain located immediately behind the proscenium arch. Asbestos-based materials were originally used to manufacture the curtain, before the dangers of asbestos were discovered...
s, all-electrical illumination, and a very early air conditioning
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
system which employed fans and large amounts of ice. The theater also contained an electric organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, an innovation at that time. The theater is believed the first to employ a counterweight
Counterweight
A counterweight is an equivalent counterbalancing weight that balances a load.-Uses:A counterweight is often used in traction lifts , cranes and funfair rides...
system for hoisting scenery, which was installed after World War I and remains in use today.