Orpheum Theater
111 Pittsburgh Street,
Connellsville,
PA
15425
111 Pittsburgh Street,
Connellsville,
PA
15425
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Altoona Publix Theaters Inc., Broumas Theatres
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The Orpheum Theatre was opened on December 14, 1916 with Mary Pickford in “Less Than the Dust”. It closed on April 27, 1969 with Dean Martin in “The Wrecking Crew”. It was demolished on June 14, 1969.
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
Kind of an unfortunate name for the Candy Lady, don’t you think?
1946 photo is now here.
From Boxoffice magazine, January 1938:
CONNELLSVILLE, Pa.-G. Mikaris and F. Mikalarias, veteran exhibitors of this city, retired from the field this week. Orpheum Theater, here, recently extensively remodeled by the partners, has been acquired under long term lease by Altoona Publix Theaters.
Address should be updated. I can’t check from here to see if the building is still standing.
Was there more than one location for the Orpheum Theatre at Connellsville, or was this house enlarged at some point? The December 16, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World said that the Orpheum had opened on November 30 and seated 750.
On May 1, 1969, the Connellsville Daily Courier ran an ad for the Orpheum Theatre that said “Closed for Repairs. Watch for Opening.” but the opening apparently never came. The July 14, 1970, issue of the newspaper had an item about proposed improvements for the former site of the Orpheum Theatre. The house closed at the end of April, 1969, and must have been demolished no more than 15 months later.
The Orpheum Theatre was created within the Royal Hotel (later the Royal Apartments) property in 1916 by candy store operator and former Olympic Theatre operator, Pete L. Mikalarias. It launched December 14, 1916 with Mary Pickford in “Less Then the Dust.” In May of 1929, Mikalarias, installed Vitaphone to bring the theatre in the talking picture era.
In 1938, Mikalarias sold the theatre to Notopoulos Theatres which hired John G Broumas to managed the venue. The Orpheum was later acquired by Publix Theatres. Publix dropped the theatre in December of 1964.
Broumas created his Broumas Theatre Circuit based in Maryland and returned to the Orpheum acquiring it in 1965. He would give the theatre a final refresh complete with new front, new marquee and lots of cherry paneling covering up the past at its relaunch on July 21, 1965 with “The Yellow Rolls Royce.” But Broumas would go bankrupt just a year thereafter and things did not improve at the Orpheum after the Circuit’s departure.
The Orpheum closed on April 27, 1969 with Dean Martin in “The Wrecking Crew.” Promised showings of Jerry Lewis in “Hook, Line and Sinker” were cancelled. And, sadly, the wrecking crew did appear once again as the theatre was demolished on June 14, 1969.