Gayety Theatre Burlesk front elevation drawing, Milwaukee Wisc

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The Gayety theater in Milwaukee is shown here as a flat, measured front elevation rather than a street view, so every cornice, entrance and sign sits at true scale. Gayety houses belonged to a national network of burlesque theaters that flourished in American cities in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Architectural drawings like this one guided construction, renovation and the presentation of a building's front to passersby. Looking closely at the proportions and lettering shows how a working theater presented itself to Milwaukee's streets.

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