Flavorwire

If you haven’t noticed, we’re quite the bunch of architecture nerds here at Flavorwire, never missing an opportunity to feast our eyes on the most beautiful libraries, bookstores, opera houses, you name it. We’ve cast our eyes across America before looking for the best movie theaters in the land (we did it twice, actually) — but that search was more about the overall experience, with history and programming as important (if not more) than physical beauty. Just for fun, we decided to take another look, with an eye on pure aesthetics: what are the most beautiful movie theaters in the country? Several spaces on the previous lists qualified, but we decided to eliminate repetition; we also limited ourselves to venues that show films on at least a semi-regular basis (many gorgeous former movie houses now only showcase live events). Check out our top ten after the jump, and tell us more in the comments.

The Orinda Theatre – Orinda, CA

This theater, which dates back to 1941, was nearly demolished in 1984. Luckily, it was saved and restored, with two additional screens added before it reopened in 1989.