Built in 1928 as a vaudeville and movie house, the Stanley Theater is a massive Gothic-style structure. The 4,300-seat amphitheater is second in size on the East Coast to Radio City Music Hall, which was built in 1932. Jacob Fabian of Paterson, noted for theater construction in New Jersey, commissioned Fred Wesley Wentworth of Wentworth and (Frederick J.) Vreeland to built the movie palace. A glittering copper marquee spans the entrance, overhanging the solid brass doors. Over the marquee are three large arched windows. Building materials include marble from Italy, Vermont and Texas, limestone from Indiana, and granite from Maine to face the Corinthian columns. The impressive interior has a three-story lobby adorned with columns, a broad center staircase with trompe l'oeil alabaster handrails and balusters, lamps, velvet drapes, and stained class windows of faux "Chartre Blue" in the foyer. Allegorical paintings by Hungarian muralist Willy Pagany adorn the ceiling and walls. The larger of two crystal chandeliers, suspended from the second floor, is from the |