Orpheum Theatre
203 South Main Street,
Memphis,
TN
38103
203 South Main Street,
Memphis,
TN
38103
3 people
favorited this theater
The Grand Opera House opened on the corner of Main Street and Beale Street in 1890, and was touted as the finest opera house outside New York at the time. Originally used for opera, the Grand Opera House soon was featuring vaudeville acts, and in 1907 became part of the Orpheum circuit. It was renamed the Orpheum Theatre that same year. In 1923, a fire broke out and the old Orpheum Theatre was burned to the ground. Luckily, the theatre was empty at the time. The first Orpheum Theatre has its own page on Cinema Treasures.
Five years later, on the foundation of the old theatre, a new Orpheum Theatre was built at a then-staggering cost of $1.5 million. Twice as large as the old theatre, and much more ornate and luxurious, decorated in the style of Francois I, the Memphis Orpheum Theatre was beyond anything the builders of the old opera house could have ever dreamed.
The Orpheum Theatre opened on November 19, 1928. The auditorium, which seated 2,400, is decorated in shades of gold, red and cream, and includes a huge stage, orchestra pit, balcony and domed ceiling. The Orpheum Theatre also owns a Mighty Wurlizter organ. The grand lobby with its twin staircases, enormous crystal chandeliers and gilded plasterwork. The Orpheum Theatre also contained a nightclub called the Broadway Club, as well as smaller lobby spaces to the sides of the grand lobby.
By 1940, after the heyday of vaudeville, the Orpheum Theatre was purchased by the Malco chain and switched to a movies-only format. The Orpheum Theatre continued to run first-run films until it closed in 1977.
In 1982, the Memphis Development Foundation acquired the Orpheum Theatre and undertook a $5 million renovation project which brought the palace back to its 1928 glory after decades of decline. In January 1984, a grand reopening ceremony was held.
Today, the Orpheum Theatre is Memphis' premier venue for touring Broadway shows. The Orpheum Theatre has hosted more touring Broadway productions than any other theatre in the US. In addition to its stage shows, the Orpheum Theatre hosts concerts and everyone from the Vienna Boys Choir to Patti LaBelle to Harry Connick, Jr. have graced the stage. It is also the home to two of the city’s finest local arts organizations, the Memphis Ballet and the Memphis Opera. Classic movies are screened on a regular basis.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater
Recent comments (view all 45 comments)
The old Grand Opera House in Memphis, on the site of which the Orpheum was built, is listed in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide. It was under the management of Staub, Jefferson, Klaw and Erlanger. Admission prices ranged from 25 cents to $1. There were 747 orchestra seats, 582 balcony seats and 1000 gallery seats, total: 2,329. The proscenium opening was 38 feet wide X 42 feet high, and the stage was 65 feet deep. The theater was on the ground floor and there were 9 members of the house orchestra. There was also a New Lyceum Theatre in Memphis which had 2,010 seats. There were 4 newspapers, the Commercial, Scimitar, Times-Figaro and Herald, and 5 hotels for show folk, the Gayoso, Clarendon, Arlington, Fransioli, and Peabody. The 1897 population of Memphis is listed as 100,000.
Orpheum Theater photo
1980 photo of the Orpheum Theatre.
View link
The Orpheum can be seen in this 2009 photo.
This site has another photo of the Orpheum.
Nice history I do not like the marquee with its electronic lights.
The Orpheum on a muggy summer day in 1996 – they must have been showing the original 1960 version of “Psycho”, as the remake came out two years after this photo:
View link
2009 photo of the orpheum Theatre courtesy JMazzolaa.
View link
I added a pic I found on the net of the Orpheum as the Malco in the late `50’s. Elvis appears to be getting a ticket in front.
Great photo David,The Loews State can be seen in the background also.