The Pabst Theater, built in 1895, serves as the centerpiece of Milwaukee’s downtown theater district, and functions as the fourth-oldest continuously operating theater in the United States. The Pabst is known for its opulence, as well as its role in German- American culture in Milwaukee. It is officially designated a City of Milwaukee Landmark and a State of Wisconsin Historical Site, and was also designated a National Historic Landmark in 1991. The interiors boast a traditional proscenium stage theater with two balconies, a hydraulic orchestra pit, and a 2-ton Austrian crystal chandelier.
Guests climb a staircase crafted from white Italian Carrara marble and gaze upon a proscenium arch highlighted in gold leaf, which frames the stage. HPZS served as the restoration architect for the interior of the theater, performing extensive on-site investigation and historic research in local libraries and archives, designing restoration plans and specifications, lighting, in addition to developing an interiors palette including seat and curtain fabrics, floor coverings and plaster finishes.
