Benjamin Marcus Priteca (23 December 1889 – 1 October 1971) was a Jewish-American architect. He is best known for designing theatres for

Alexander Pantages Alexander Pantages (, ''Periklis Alexandros Padazis''; 1867 – February 17, 1936) was a Greek American vaudeville impresario and early film producer, motion picture producer. He created a large and powerful circuit of theatres across the Weste ...

Early life

Benjamin Marcus Priteca was born into a Jewish family in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

on 23 December 1889. His nickname was "Benny". He served an apprenticeship in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

under architect Robert MacFarlane Cameron from 1904 to 1909, and earned degrees from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

and the Royal College of Arts during this time. In 1909, he emigrated to the U.S. and settled in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Career

Priteca met Seattle

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

theatre owner

in 1910 and won a commission from him to design the San Francisco Pantages Theater (1911), the first of many so-named vaudeville and

motion picture A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

houses in what would become one of the largest theater chains in North America. In all, Priteca designed 22 theaters for Pantages and another 128 for other theater owners. Notable theaters include the Coliseum (1915) in Seattle; the Pantages (1918) in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

; the Pantages (1920) in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

(downtown); the Pantages in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

(1924); the Pantages (renamed The Orpheum) (1926) in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

(downtown); the Pantages (1928) in

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

; the Paramount (1929) in Seattle; the Pantages (1929) in

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

(the last and largest of the Pantages theaters); the Warner on Pacific Boulevard in Huntington Park, California (1930); the

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

(1942) in West Seattle; and the Orpheum (1927) in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. Priteca also designed the 1934 Grandstand and Clubhouse of Longacres Racetrack in

Renton, Washington Renton is a city in King County, Washington, United States, and an inner-ring suburb of Seattle. Situated southeast of downtown Seattle, Renton straddles the southeast shore of Lake Washington, at the mouth of the Cedar River. As of the 202 ...

, which operated from 1935 to 1994 and has since been demolished. Pantages is said to have liked Priteca as a theater architect for his ability to create the appearance of opulence within a less-than-opulent budget. Pantages is quoted as saying, "Any damn fool can make a place look like a million dollars by spending a million dollars, but it's not everybody who can do the same thing with half a million." Priteca's apprentices included

Gregory Ain Gregory Samuel Ain (March 28, 1908 – January 9, 1988) was an American architect active in the mid-20th century. Working primarily in the Los Angeles area, Ain is best known for bringing elements of modern architecture to lower- and medium- ...

, who went on to success as a modernist architect (practicing in a very different manner). Ain worked with Priteca for a short time in the late 1920s and helped draw the Los Angeles Pantages. In 1951, Priteca became a

Fellow of the American Institute of Architects Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) is a postnominal title or membership, designating an individual who has been named a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Fellowship is bestowed by the institute on AIA-memb ...

. He remained active as an architect well into his later years, working as a consultant in the design of the Seattle Opera House (1962) and the Civic Auditorium (1968) in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

Death

Priteca died in Seattle on 1 October 1971, at the age of 81. His first name was mistakenly recorded as "Bernard" on his death certificate. He was posthumously awarded honorary membership of the Theatre Historical Society of America.

Works

Theaters

* Coliseum (1915) in Seattle * Pantages (1918) in

; * Pantages (1920) in

(downtown) * Pantages (1924) in

(1924) * Pantages (1926) in

(later renamed The Orpheum) * Orpheum (1927) in

* Pantages (1928) in

; * Paramount (1929) in Seattle * Pantages (1929) in

(the last and largest of the Pantages theaters) * Warner (1930) on Pacific Boulevard in Huntington Park, California *

(1942) in West Seattle

Other buildings

*Chevra Bikur Cholim synagogue (1912) in Seattle, now the Langston Hughes Performing Art Center *Seattle's Crystal Pool natatorium (1916) *Alhadeff Sanctuary of Seattle's Temple De Hirsch Sinai *Civic Auditorium (now Keller Auditorium) in Portland * Longacres racetrack clubhouse and grandstand in

Gallery

Image:Orpheum exterior 1946.jpg, Priteca's Orpheum Theatre on Granville Street in

, 1946 Image:Pantages.JPG, Priteca's Pantages Theater in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

Image:Seattle Langston 04.jpg, Detail of Priteca's Chevra Bikur Cholim synagogue in

, now the Langston Hughes Performing Art Center File:Coliseum Theatre construction, November 12, 1915 (SEATTLE 1612).jpg, Coliseum Theatre, Seattle under construction 1915 Image:Seattle Coliseum Theater 09.jpg, Terracotta Green Man, Coliseum Theatre, Seattle Image:Seattle - Cristalla 05A.jpg, Terracotta

Griffins The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...

, Crystal Pool, Seattle Image:Seattle-Alhadeff-Sanctuary-3604.jpg, The Alhadeff Sanctuary of Seattle's Temple De Hirsch Sinai, a late Priteca project File:Keller Auditorium.JPG, Civic Auditorium (now Keller Auditorium) in Portland File:Crystal Pool natatorium, 2035 2nd Ave at Lenora St, Seattle (CURTIS 456).jpeg, Seattle's Crystal Pool natatorium, 1916

References

Biographical sketch of B. Marcus Priteca (with photographs) at Puget Sound Theatre Organ Society
* Statt, Daniel
Pantages, Alexander (1876-1936)
HistoryLink.org Essay 2999, February 19, 2001, Corrected December 18, 2002. Accessed 10 March 2007.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Priteca, B. Marcus 1889 births 1971 deaths American theatre architects Jewish architects Architects from Seattle Scottish emigrants to the United States Scottish Jews Architects from Glasgow Fellows of the American Institute of Architects