“Electric tiaras” are what theatre historian Ben M. Hall called the movie marquee. The cinema marquee and its readograph – the backlit sign written with moveable letters – is as important as the movie poster. Originally a rectangular sign, its shape was adapted to a more trapezoid formation specifically to be seen from a moving car. An iconic image like the film projector, clapper board and film reel, the movie marquee evokes the Golden Age of the movies. Before the internet, before the telephone, it beckon
Source: Cinema Marquees Go Viral Amid COVID-19 Shutdown – Celluloid Junkie