{"nrhp_refnum":"79002207","name":"Warner Theater","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"120 N. High St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"West Chester","county":"Chester County","state":"PA","lat":39.96034525300007,"lon":-75.60612916499997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-11-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Architecture","Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A composite one-, two- and three-story building in West Chester, Chester County, Pennsylvania, combining a motion picture theater, a restaurant and a row of small stores, with its principal facade on High Street. It was opened by Warner Brothers in 1930.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a remarkably well preserved 1930 Art Deco movie palace whose interior is virtually unchanged apart from an enlarged stage. Its interior decoration, drawing on multiple decorative influences with an Egyptian character, is described as exceptional. It is also presented as a major civic and cultural landmark for West Chester and Chester County.","narrative":"Warner Brothers opened this movie palace on High Street in West Chester on November 14, 1930, designed by the Chicago firm of C. W. and George Rapp, who specialized in opulent movie houses. The building combines a theater with a restaurant and a row of small stores under a steel frame faced in red brick and cast stone. Its auditorium seats a original capacity of 1650 across a main floor and balcony, and was billed as the Showplace of Chester County. The interior is decorated in blue, gold, red and silver, with plaster panels molded to resemble velvet drapery, a tray ceiling and Egyptian-inspired papyrus and lotus motifs. The theater is regarded as an exceptionally well preserved example of the Art Deco movie palace, with its design, decoration and surviving original systems central to its importance to the town and county.","period_of_significance":"1930","architect_builder":"Rapp and Rapp for Warner Brothers","architectural_style":"Art Deco","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":null,"vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:28.858683-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/79002207.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002207/c07dfabb54-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002207/c07dfabb54-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Warner_Theater_West_Chester_PA.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Warner_Theater_West_Chester_PA.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"85001447","name":"West Chester Downtown Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/west-chester-downtown-historic-district-85001447/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998640","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Theater_(West_Chester,_Pennsylvania)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7969764"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/chester-county/warner-theater-79002207/"}