C. W. & George L. Rapp, commonly known as Rapp & Rapp, was an American

architectural firm In the United States, an architectural firm or architecture firm is a business that employs one or more licensed architects and practices the profession of architecture; while in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark and other countri ...

famed for the design of movie palaces and other theatres. Active from 1906 to 1965 and based in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, 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 Five Flags Center is a multi-purpose facility in downtown Dubuque, Iowa. It is named for the five flags that have flown over Dubuque; the Fleur de Lis of France (1673–1763), the Royal Flag of Spain (1763–1803), the Union Jack of Great Britai ...

(1910) in Dubuque, Iowa and the Paramount Theatres in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

(1926) and Aurora, Illinois (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 Trinidad is the home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Las Animas County, Colorado, United States. The population was 8,329 as of the 2020 census. Trinidad lies north of Raton, New Mexico, and ...

practice of their brothers

Isaac H. Rapp Isaac Hamilton Rapp, (1854 – March 27, 1933) was an American architect who has been called the "Creator of the Santa Fe style." He was born in Orange, New Jersey. Rapp learned his trade working for his father, a sometime architect and building ...

(1854–1933) and

William M. Rapp Isaac Hamilton Rapp, (1854 – March 27, 1933) was an American architect who has been called the "Creator of the Santa Fe style." He was born in Orange, New Jersey. Rapp learned his trade working for his father, a sometime architect and building ...

(1863–1920) or the notable

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

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 Altgeld Hall, located at 1409 West Green Street in Urbana, Illinois on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) campus, was built in 1896–97 and was designed by Nathan Ricker and James M. White of the University's architecture depa ...

(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.Richard W. Longstreth and Steven Levin, "Rapp and Rapp" in ''Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects'' 3, ed. Adolf K. Placzek (New York: Free Press, 1982): 532. George Leslie Rapp was born February 16, 1878. He was educated in the

School of Architecture This is a list of architecture schools at colleges and universities around the world. An architecture school (also known as a school of architecture or college of architecture), is an institution specializing in architectural education. Africa ...

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

in Dubuque, Iowa, the new firm quickly specialized in theatres. In 1917 they began working with the

Balaban & Katz Balaban and Katz Theater Corporation, or B&K, was a theatre corporation which owned a chain of motion picture theaters in Chicago and surrounding areas. It was founded by Barney Balaban (later long-time President of Paramount Pictures), his six ...

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. During this period Rapp was joined by Mason Gerardi Rapp, son of his elder brother

. After George L. Rapp's retirement in 1938, Mason G. Rapp succeeded to the practice. After the death of his uncle in 1941 he renamed the firm Rapp & Rapp, which had always been its common name. In 1965 Rapp retired, and the firm was dissolved. Mason G. Rapp died in 1978.

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. They were responsible for the design of some 400 theatres, most of which were built in the 1920s. They designed many movie palaces, including a number of atmospheric theatres, which utilized romantic architectural elements to evoke specific times and places. Their only surviving atmospheric theatre in Chicago is the Gateway Theatre, now the Copernicus Center, completed in 1930. If murals were to be included in the theatres, Louis Grell of Chicago was commissioned to paint them. Many of the theatres and other buildings designed by the Rapp brothers have been listed on the United States

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

Buildings

Some of the notable buildings that the firm designed include:

Chicago, Illinois

* Central Park Theatre * Chicago Theatre * Gateway Theatre, now Copernicus Center * Hotel Windermere *

Jackson Shore Apartments The Jackson Shore Apartments are a historic apartment building in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The building was built in 1916–18, at which time Hyde Park was a popular and growing neighborhood. Architects Rapp & Rapp, who w ...

* New Bismarck Hotel, today "Hotel Allegro" * Old Dearborn Bank Building, also known as 203 North Wabash StreetVirgin Hotel
Phorio * Oriental Theatre, now James M. Nederlander Theatre * Palace Theatre * Riviera Theatre * Tivoli Theatre * Uptown Theatre

Other areas

;

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

* Paramount Theatre ; Aurora, Illinois * Paramount Theatre ;

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metrop ...

* Orpheum Theater ;

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will and Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. At the 2020 census, the city was the third-largest in Illinois, with a population of 150,362. His ...

* Rialto Square Theatre ; Streator, Illinois * The Majestic Theatre ; Davenport, Iowa * Capital Theater ; Dubuque, Iowa *

;

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County ...

* Orpheum Theatre ; Wichita, Kansas * Miller Theater (1922-1972) ; Ashland, Kentucky * Paramount Arts Center ;

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

* Leland Hotel * Michigan Theatre ; Kansas City, Missouri *

Mainstreet Theater The Mainstreet Theater, also commonly referred to as The Empire Theater, is a historic theater in downtown Kansas City, Missouri in the Power & Light District. The theater was landmarked and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in Feb ...

; St. Louis, Missouri * Ambassador Theatre (demolished) * St. Louis Theater (now Powell Hall) ; Jersey City, New Jersey * Loew's Jersey Theater ;

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

* Shea's Theatre ; Middletown, New York * Paramount Theatre ;

* Paramount Theatre, Brooklyn * Paramount Theatre, Times Square * Kings Theatre, Brooklyn (formerly Loew's Kings Theater) ;

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

* Palace Theatre (demolished) ; Cleveland, Ohio * Palace Theatre ; Youngstown, Ohio * Warner Theatre (now DeYor Performing Arts Center) ;

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region wit ...

*Akdar Theatre 1922-1964 ;

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

* Paramount Theatre (now Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall) ;

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

* Warner Theatre ;

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

* Loew's Penn Theatre (now Heinz Hall) ;

West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Located within the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,461 at the 2010 census. West Chester is the mailing address for most of its neigh ...

* Warner Theatre ;

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

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

Mitchell, South Dakota Mitchell is a city in and the county seat of Davison County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 15,660 at the 2020 census making it the sixth most populous city in South Dakota. Mitchell is the principal city of the Mitchell Mi ...

Corn Palace The Corn Palace, commonly advertised as The World's Only Corn Palace and the Mitchell Corn Palace, is a multi-purpose arena/facility located in Mitchell, South Dakota, United States. The Moorish Revival building is decorated with crop art; the mu ...

;

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020 ...

* Tivoli Theatre ;

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mo ...

* Orpheum Theatre ;

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen C ...

* Paramount Theater ;

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

* Paramount Theatre ;

Baraboo, Wisconsin Baraboo is a city in the Midwest and the county seat of Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. The largest city in the county, Baraboo is the principal city of the Baraboo Micropolitan Statistical Area. Its 2020 population was 12,556. It is situ ...

* Al. Ringling Theater'' ;

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th ...

* Orpheum Theatre (Madison, Wisconsin) ;

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

* Uptown Theatre (demolished) * Bradley Symphony Center, formerly the Warner Grand Theater ;

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...

* Gateway Theatre, now the Rhode Center for the Arts ;

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 ...

* RKO Main Street Theatre

References

Chicago History Museum Chicago History Museum is the museum of the Chicago Historical Society (CHS). The CHS was founded in 1856 to study and interpret Chicago's history. The museum has been located in Lincoln Park since the 1930s at 1601 North Clark Street at the int ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rapp And Rapp American theatre architects Architects from Illinois Defunct architecture firms based in Chicago