historically important c. 1930's american depression era art deco style cast plaster nauticalesque nortown theater interior lobby panel featuring man with trident

historically important c. 1930's american art deco style documented cast plaster nauticalesque style single-sided panel carefully removed from the nortown theater second floor lobby. the thin decorative panel features a man grasping a trident atop a scaly skin mythical sea creature. contains an off-white, metallic gold and silver paint finish over plaster. the panel was likely fabricated by the decorators supply co., chicago, il. the atmospheric nortown theater was designed and built in 1931 by architect j.e.o. pridmore and the paschen brothers as general contractors. containing over 2000 seats, the auditorium was modeled after the mediterranean region of europe, with an italian courtyard overlooking the sea. the walls gave off an illusion of a seascape and garden scene containing the exteriors of villas with tile rooftops. the audience was seated in full view of the ocean, with lighthouse effect and ships passing in the offing. the nortown was considered the first theater given a pronounced marine treatment. the auditorium ceiling was designed to emulate an "april constellation," with astronomy professor j.c. penn of the armour institute, commissioned to arrange the stars in their proper places to insure an authentic layout. located in chicago, the theater was torn down in 2007. urban remains salvaged the interior and exterior ornament for nearly half a year.