From the early days of film until the 1950s, movie theaters really were palaces. As going to the movies became a popular American activity, movie theaters grew from the original store-front nickelodeons (see entry under 1900s—Film and Theater in volume 1) into huge, ornate theaters such as The Regent (New York City, built 1913), The Million Dollar (Los Angeles, built 1918), and Radio City Music Hall (New York City, built in 1932). Unfortunately, after the emergence of television (see entry under 1940s—TV & Radio in volume 3) and growth of suburbia (see entry under 1950s—The Way We Lived in volume 3) in the 1950s, movie palaces began to disappear. Today there are still motion picture theaters, but they no longer play the major role they did during the first half of the twentieth century. During the Great Depression (see entry under 1930s—The Way We Lived in volume 2), movie palaces...