1927 Alabama Theatre

Name of Model: 1927 Alabama Theatre

Created by: Wesley Higgins

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wesleyhiggins/sets/72157624866985152/

Details: Since the builder did a great job of summing up the history of the source material (follow the links above for that), I'll focus on the building itself here. The first thing that caught my eye was the sign - an elegant mosaic with clear plates as letters. It's actually more complicated than it looks at first glance - it actually gets a plate thicker on each side near the top and bottom, the very top and absolute bottom face different directions than the rest to get the edge of the trim to come out right. The cornicework above the windows is so simple that it barely qualifies as an interesting technique, but the effect comes out perfectly. The entryway looks great, with a current show info, a ticket booth, and old-fashioned outdoor lights. In that same photo, you can see a few plates on the side of the building with their bottoms facing outward - probably held in by using round 1x1 plates wedged in between the studs, with the top of the 1x1 plates connected to Technic bricks. I really like that so much of the surrounding plaza and city scene was recreated here as well - it makes it feel more like a scene out of 1927 instead of a town with a random landmark thrown in. You can see some photos of the source material in the 31-photo flickr set showcasing this model.