Rapp & Rapp

Brothers Cornelius Ward (C.W.) Rapp and George Leslie Rapp were the named partners of the architectural firm Rapp and Rapp. The firm is best remembered for their 400-some theaters, including Chicago's Central Park Theater, Chicago Theatre, Gateway Theatre, Oriental Theatre, Palace Theatre, Riviera Theatre, and the Uptown Theatre.
In the Twin Cities, Rapp & Rapp designed the Capitol Theatre (later, the Paramount Theater).

George Rapp is often quoted as saying that he and other theater builders were creating

shrine(s) to democracy, where there are no privileged patrons, [where] the wealthy rub elbows with the poor—and are better for this contact. Do not wonder, then at the touches of Italian Renaissance, executed in glazed polychrome terra-cotta, or at the lobbies and foyers adorned with replicas of precious masterpieces of another world, or at the imported marble wainscoting or the richly ornamented ceilings with motifs copied from master touches of Germany, France and Italy, or at the carved niches, the cloistered arcades, the depthless mirrors, and the great sweeping staircases. These are not impractical attempts at showing off. These are part of a celestial city—a cavern of many-colored jewels, where irirdescent lights and luxurious fittings heighten the expectation of pleasure. It is richness unabashed, but richness with a reason. (from David Nasaw, Going Out: The Rise and Fall of Public Amusements,, New York, NY: BasicBooks, 1993, 230)