Hershey Theater

Hershey Theatre in Pennsylvania was planned by architect C. Emlen Urban from 1915 and constructed between 1929 and 1933 as part of Milton S. Hershey's programme of community building during the Depression. It was dedicated in September 1933. The interior draws on Venetian and Byzantine imagery, including decorative references to St Mark's Basilica and winged lions. Eighty-eight lights create a starry ceiling above the auditorium. The stage was equipped with five elevators to support changes of scenery and performance arrangements. The theatre presents touring Broadway productions, music and dance, continuing the public entertainment function for which it was incorporated into Hershey's community centre. Milton S. Hershey had the architect C. Emlen Urban begin planning a community centre in 1915; construction started in 1929, in the Depression, and the theatre opened in September 1933 as one of six buildings whose construction kept hundreds of men in work. It seats 1,904. The lobby takes its canopy of gold and pin-point mosaic from St Mark's in Venice, the auditorium its wooden flanks from Byzantine castle building and its winged lions from Venice again. Touring Broadway, concerts and dance fill the year.