Orpheum Theatre

I regret to say that the photo you have up of the Minneapolis Orpheum is actually the Minneapolis Orpheum which opened in 1904 and closed in the 1930s as the 7th Street Theatre. The restored Minneapolis Orphuem which is open today is a larger house, several blocks away from where this earlier Orpheum stood. By the way today's Orpheum played movies until 1978. To see a photo of the present Orpheum and the restored Minneapolis State Theatre check out their web site which is I believe State-Orpheum.com, if that doesn't work let me know and I'll direct to another.

The photo you have is of the 1904 Minneapolis Orpheum which was located on 7th Street in Minneapolis. It was later named the 7th Street and closed in the 1930s and was razed.
The 1921 Minneapolis Orpheum which opened as the Hennepin and has been restored is a totally different theatre. Also the 1921 Orpheum ran movies up the mid 1970s.

Here's a 1925 view of the Orpheum Theater front entrance at 908-910 Hennepin Avenue. (MN Historical Society)

http://collections.mnhs.org/VisualResources/VRDBImages/pf022/pf022948.jpg

I worked there from about 1990-1992 and was told that this entrance is a second one that was built after the original entrance on 9th street proved unable to handle large volumes of traffic. This one houses the audience waiting to get in in a huge lobby/hallway about half a block long that leads to the original theater building. You can see how skinny it is in the photo. The bulk of the theater is on the other side of the block, between 9th and 10th and the side is on 1st Av N.

Here's a 1922 picture of the old entrance and the theater proper (I'm not sure if this is how the entrance looked when the theater was new or not):

http://collections.mnhs.org/VisualResources/image.cfm?imageid=77876&Page=3&EndDate=1925&Keywords=%22orpheum%20theater%22&StartDate=1900&Type=Photo&SearchType=Basic

Write me if any questions... I'll try to answer with info circa early 90's if possible.

While going through the Minneapolis theatres that are still open I wondered if this is the theatre that Brian Williams broadcast the NBC Nightly News from on Thursday, Jan. 13th?

The Orpheum theater was designed by Kirchoff & Rose. Here is another photo of the Orpheum:
http://www.phototour.minneapolis.mn.us/127

The Orpheum Theatre opened October 16th, 1921.

Can anyone help me make a connection between the current Orpheum theatre and SL Rothafel, "Roxy” I’ve found tons of info on his involvement with other theatres in Minneapolis but nothing really about the Orpheum.

Here is a 1960 postcard:
http://tinyurl.com/lcsnn

Here is a 1930 view of the marquee:
http://tinyurl.com/qq7kc

This is another 1930 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/pqdcf

1943:
http://tinyurl.com/ljqn2

1946:
http://tinyurl.com/qdfbq

Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996

Hennepin Theatre (added 1996 - Building - #95001548)
Also known as Hennepin Orpheum Theatre;RKO Orpheum Theatre;Orpheum Theatre
910 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis
Historic Significance: Architecture/Engineering, Event
Architect, builder, or engineer: et al., Kirchoff, Roger
Architectural Style: Beaux Arts
Area of Significance: Performing Arts, Architecture
Period of Significance: 1900-1924, 1925-1949
Owner: Local Gov't
Historic Function: Recreation And Culture
Historic Sub-function: Theater
Current Function: Recreation And Culture
Current Sub-function: Theater

This is a recent night view of the Orpheum Theater.

Neat vertical marquee!

Would like to see some interior photos.

A couple of interior photos can be seen here.

Lost Memory: Thanks for the great collection of interior photos. Do you know whether this theatre has an organ or hopefully an original organ since it was built in 1921 and was a silent movie/vaudville house?

Patsy- the info that I have (from THSA notes) is that the Orpheum had a 3-manual Kilgen organ with twin consoles, but it was removed, probably a long time ago. The auditorium does feature an enormous crystal chandelier, "15 feet high, and weighing one ton". The THSA is planning to visit the Orpheum and other theatres in the Twin Cities in mid-June, 2007.

Please update the website to www.HennepinTheatreDistrict.org

Thanks!

Here is a nice photo of the Orpheum Theater.

I just attended a session of the National Trust for Historic Preservation at this theatre. And yes, it has a very odd lobby -- long and narrow. As I had to catch the bus, I wasn't able to walk around the block to get a better idea of how it all fits together. We were told in our printed material that Bob Dylan once owned this theatre. I don't know how long or how it was used.

The Orpheum Theater can be seen in this photo.

This is another night view of the Orpheum.

Here is a recent view of the ceiling.

For those of you curious about the lobby, I recommend viewing the Orpheum's Technical Specifications. The last page has a detailed floor plan of the main lobby, which faces Hennepin Avenue, and you will quickly see how the capacity of this lobby compares to the original 9th Street-facing lobby, which is now referred to as a "vestibule", a more appropriate term for its size. The vestibule is quite awkward as it has low ceilings and its floor is severely graded to make up for the significant difference between the level of the foyer and street level.

The repositioning of the lobby adequately responds to the traffic issues when audiences arrive for a performance, but there is still a significant traffic problem when exiting. I recently attended a sold-out performance, at which I was seated toward the front on the right aisle. Ushers are positioned to prevent people from exiting onto 1st Avenue, so a majority of people go straight for the 9th Street exits (through the awkward vestibule) rather than snake back to the Hennepin Avenue entrance, which results in a pouring of people onto 9th Street due to the narrow sidewalk.

Here's a 1997 shot of the Orpheum.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/34443508@N08/3374814547/

1982 photo of the Orpheum Theatre.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=CATAdvancedSearch1%2c23%2c3%2c-1&catpagesize=25&ProductID=28784

Sept 1982 photo of the Orpheum Theatre.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=CATAdvancedSearch1%2c23%2c3%2c-1&catpagesize=25&ProductID=28786

This is a 2009 photo.