Orpheum Theater

The Orpheum Theatre is located at 1007 So. Water Street and it seated 1163 people.

this theater is beutifull inside

The French Renaissance façade of this century-plus old theatre has an epic monumentality to it that knocked me out when I first saw it, after having thought that no such theatre even existed in New Bedford. I felt like I had been thrust face-to-face with some courtly palace of spectacles. But there it is, like a grandiose mirage, with the front of the theatre virtually touching the Route 18 expressway that replaced the portion of South Water Street that it was originally on.

The organization ORPH (Orpheum Rising Project Helpers) is an all-volunteer group formed to save and restore the building and eventually register it with the National Register of Historic Places. I hope some day that it does get restored, inside and out, but that might be a difficult project considering the impoverished neighborhood, New Bedford's South End, in which it is ensconced.

The building was constructed at the end of the 19th Century (by residents of French background?), and the front bears the inscription "1891 Salle Francs-Tireurs 1911." It was the French Sharpshooters' Hall, with a shooting range as well as a social hall in the structure when it was first built. There are six stunning carved stone faces on the front. Heavy chains drop over either side of what was the entrance (now sealed) and supported at one time a marquee or canopy. Its early years in the 20th Century saw it as a neighborhood silent-movie palace and vaudeville theatre. It lasted into the 1950s showing double bills of popular Hollywod movies in second run. The theatre is used now as a storage facility for for a nearby food store and seems to be under some minimal maintenance. There is a "for sale" sign posted in it.

I took a drive out from Providence to see this place yesterday and it made my day. I would love to see the interior which OrphMaria says is beautiful. I have no doubts.

Here are the exterior photos I took:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/italiangerry/OrpheumNewBedford/OrpheumNewBedfordMA-Side-Rte18.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/italiangerry/OrpheumNewBedford/OrpheumNewBedfordMA-3.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/italiangerry/OrpheumNewBedford/OrpheumNewBedfordMA-facade1.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/italiangerry/OrpheumNewBedford/OrpheumNewBedfordMA-theatresidewalk.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/italiangerry/OrpheumNewBedford/OrpheumNewBedfordMA-stone_faces.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/italiangerry/OrpheumNewBedford/OrpheumNewBedfordMA-FaceCarving.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/italiangerry/OrpheumNewBedford/OrpheumNewBedfordMA-sealed_entrance.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/italiangerry/OrpheumNewBedford/OrpheumNewBedfordMA-side-storage_entrance.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/italiangerry/OrpheumNewBedford/OrpheumNewBedfor-TheHomeOfVitaphoneAndMovietone.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/italiangerry/OrpheumNewBedford/OrpheumNewBedfordMA-rear3.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/italiangerry/OrpheumNewBedford/OrpheumNewBedfordMA-rear.jpg

Short newspaper piece on the group interested in restoring the Orpheum.
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/11-04/11-07-04/c03ae316.htm

Read a reflection on the Orpheum and the lost Olympia in this letter to the editor .

The theatre was built in 1907, according to "New Bedford, a Pictorial History" by Judith A. Ross and Joseph D. Thomas. That year may refer to the cinema portion of the building. After a lengthy history of vaudeville, burlesque, and movies, the place was sold by the Sharpshooters Club to Antone DeMello in 1962.

Let’s see, flow of consciousness -- the Orpheum was the first movie theater I ever remember going to, usually tagging along holding my big sisters hand. I definitely remember seeing “War of the Worlds” at the Orpheum. The main entrance to the theater was under the marquee on Water Street after which you proceeded up a long flight of stairs (heading due west). The stairs were about 12 to 15 feet wide with a landing half way up. Once you arrived at the top of the stairs, you were greeted by the ticket takers. If you proceeded straight ahead through a set of doors you would enter the main seating area. If you turned right (north) and walked down a hall about 20ft to 30ft you came to the most important part of the building -- the concession & popcorn stand.

The interior of the main theater was very ornate, sorry but that’s the best I can recall after some 50 years. It had box seats on either side of the screen and a balcony that was mostly closed. Another peculiarity was that the rest rooms were accessible directly from the interior seating area of the building, ladies on the south side, men’s on the north side. This caused people to bunch up right outside the doors to the rest rooms waiting for a key scene to end before entering, but at least you didn’t lose 10 minutes out of the movie walking the long halls of today’s mega theaters.

Nice recollection! Almost as good as being inside, which you've done and I haven't.

The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the Orpheum Theatre in New Bedford has a photo of the exterior taken in May 1941. There is an ornate canopy at the entrance instead of a marquee. The building has a handsome facade and there are stores on each side of the theatre entrance. My copy of the photo is poor. There appears to be a single streetcar track in the street. The address iis 1007 S. Water. Competing theatres are listed as : Capitol, Royal, New Bedford. The population of New Bedford is listed as 110,300. The Report states that the theatre is not a MGM customer; That it is in Poor condition, and has 1200 seats.

This article recently appeared in the New Bedford paper. It's about efforts to save the Orpheum.

On October 7, 2007 the Orpheum Theatre (French Sharpshooters Hall) will be open from 2-5 PM for a "rope light tour" of the beautiful and rarely-seen interior. Two fascinating slide shows with over 100 photos can be seen on THIS WEB PAGE.

An article in the New Bedford paper described the October 7, 2007 opening of the theatre for a "rope light tour."
READ HERE

Check out my video from the rope light tour on June 28, 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF6xkCU2nFw

2009 photo of the former Orpheum Theatre.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marc72/3491163438/in/pool-28292781@N00/

Photos of the Orpheum and other New Bedford theatres can be seen in this great set:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spinnerpub/sets/72157613285124290/

I recently got a personal tour of the inside of the Orpheum by the ORPH, Inc. group. WOW! What a place. Here is a link to my photos taken on the inside and out on June 19th, 2010

http://trigphotography.smugmug.com/High-Dynamic-Range-Imagery/The-New-Bedford-Orpheum/12621916_C6rot#906798204_gNbGy

All sales for these photos will be donated to www.orphinc.org to restore the threare.

FrankCGrace,
Excellent photos! I don't know how many film reels were spotted inside the projection booth, but they should be examined by a knowledgeable film historian or preservation specialist to see if anything unique and rare is among them. Frequently films long-thought forever lost have turned up in old projection booths. And that place hasn't shown movies in half a century.

Thanks Gerald! It was quite an honor to get the chance to photograph such a sleeping beauty. I will mention about the films during the next ORPH Inc. meeting later this week. They might not be able to do anything with the films themselves until the restoration gets under way. When it does, I'll keep it posted here. Thanks again.

Interior photo of the Orpheum Theatre.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41658249@N02/4719734376/sizes/l/in/pool-43112408@N00/

More interior photos of the Orpheum Theatre courtesy Frank Grace.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41658249@N02/4719751382/sizes/l/in/pool-43112408@N00/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41658249@N02/4719082749/sizes/l/in/pool-43112408@N00/

Chuck,
The above pages come out as "private."
You don't want us to see them????

Gerald - I do not know why they are coming up private but I have no other images other than the ones in the link to my SmugMug account. The same ones on SmugMug are the same as on my Flickr account. In other words, you are not missing out on anything.

I cannot wait to contact other theaters in the area to hopefully get a chance to capture more of these gorgeous interiors.