Many historic theatres had strong aesthetic themes. These two photos are from the Oriental Theatre, a movie theatre in Chicago. While the outside of the theatre seems fairly staid from the exterior photo, the interior shot shows all sorts of Orientalist motifs, marking the theatre to many visitors as an exciting and exotified location. Buddhas, elephants, dragons and other “foreign” design elements overwhelm the eye and project a strong vision.
(credit: American Theatre Architecture Archive, Theatre Historical Society of America)