Orpheum Theatre
129 University Place,
New Orleans,
LA
70112
129 University Place,
New Orleans,
LA
70112
6 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 58 comments found
According to this article (http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2011/03/post_35.html), renovations of the Orpheum started on 2/14/11.
Over the next 12-14 months they plan to repair the roof, stage, electrical, seating and everything else.
They are continuing to secure financing while the work progresses.
The previous owners (mentioned in above posts to 2009) sold the orpheum to a new owner in 2010.
I don’t know when “seg” ended in N.O. but I recall being there in August 1964 for a day or two while traveling. In the New Orleans Union Terminal waiting room, one could see where the letters spelling out “Whites Only” and “Colored Only” had been removed from the walls. So that big rail station had been desegregated by then, and maybe the Orpheum Theatre as well.
The original article here discusses that the upper balcony was for blacks, but in the early 60’s I definately remember sitting anywhere in the theatre. You could easily walk to any level and I don’t have any recollection of certain seating areas for blacks.
A 1921 issue of the architectural journal Pencil Points ran this ad for The Northwestern Terra Cotta Company, which featured a photo of the Orpheum with its original entrance configuration and marquee.
Great photos.
Stagecoach in front of the Orpheum, from Boxoffice magazine, August 1, 1966:
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Announcing a book about New Orleans Movie Theaters
THEREâ€\S ONE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
The History of the Neighborhood Theaters in New Orleans
is being written by 89-year-old Rene Brunet, the dean of the motion picture industry in Louisiana, and New Orleans historian and preservationist Jack Stewart. The 160-page,coffee table book will be released in November and is being published by Arthur Hardy Enterprises, Inc. Attention will be focused on 50 major neighborhood and downtown theaters, culled from a list of nearly 250 that have dotted the cityâ€\s landscape since the first “nickelodeon†opened in 1896 at 626 Canal Street. The book will be divided by neighborhoods and will open with a map and a narrative about each area. Each major theater will feature “then and now†photographs, historic information, and a short series of quotes from famous New Orleanians and from regular citizens who will share their recollections.
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED
We are trying to acquire memorabilia and additional photos of this theater for this publication. (deadline July 1.) You will be credited in the book and receive a free autographed copy if we publish the picture that you supply. Please contact Arthur Hardy at or call 504-913-1563 if you can help.
Nice looking theatre.
This article from July, 2009 indicates that not only has the proposed renovation gone nowhere, but further deterioration has occurred and that the Texas owners owe the city back taxes:
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This is another 1980 photo.
Here is a circa 1955 photo.
To me, it’s the RKO Orpheum. Saw many horror movies there in the late 50’s and early 60’s, including Vincent Price’s “The Tingler”.
Would get my haircut in the basement of the Roosevelt Hotel across the street, then go to the movies.
Now home to the symphony.
Any updates on this renovation, sale or otherwise?
1973 photo of the RKO Orpheum Theatre.
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1979 photo of the RKO Orpheum Theatre.
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1980 photo of the RKO Orpheum Theatre.
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1982 Night Photo of the Orpheum Theatre.
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That is great news.
1982 photo of the Orpheum Theatre.
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According to this article:
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the owners of the Orpheum have started to renovate the theatre and are hoping to have it reopened by the end of the year. (The Saenger is renovation is also moving forward and the owners of the State Palace and Joy are still deciding whether to renovate, sell or demolish.)
This is a link to the a photo of the interior of the Orpheum Theatre.
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This web site has several interor and exterior views of the Orpheum & Saenger Theatre.
Here is another vintage photo of the Orpheum.
This is a photo of the RKO Orpheum Theater. Date given with photo is 1958.
Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
Orpheum Theatre ** (added 1982 – Building – #82002787)
125—129 University Pl., New Orleans
Historic Significance: Architecture/Engineering, Event
Architect, builder, or engineer: Lansburgh,G. Albert
Architectural Style: Beaux Arts
Area of Significance: Architecture, Entertainment/Recreation
Period of Significance: 1900-1924
Owner: Private
Historic Function: Recreation And Culture
Historic Sub-function: Theater
Current Function: Recreation And Culture
Current Sub-function: Theater
This is a brief article dated 7/10/2006.
“Texas investor buys flooded Orpheum Theater in N.O.
Source: New Orleans CityBusiness
Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports
The Orpheum Theater, closed since the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of its interior, was purchased two weeks ago by Rick Weyand, owner of Golden Eagle Investments in Frisco, Texas. A group of private shareholders previously owned the theater, according to Associated Press reports. Weyand declined to discuss details of the sale but Babs Mollere, managing director of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, said Weyand indicated in previous discussions his desire to renovate the property and use it as a theater with the LPO as one of its anchor tenants. Since losing the Orpheum as a primary venue, the LPO has performed at Tulane and Loyola universities and First Baptist Church of New Orleans. Its next season begins Sept. 16 and runs through May 19".
Here is the latest news on the Orpheum Theatre
The Orpheum Theater, onetime vaudeville house, longtime movie palace and recently home of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, has been sold to Dallas businessman Rick Weyand for $675,000.
Located at 129 University Place, across from the Fairmont Hotel and a block off Canal Street, the Orpheum is a jewel-box of a building with an ornate Beaux-Arts façade, celebrated for its elegant terra-cotta panels representing drama, music and dance.
Although Weyand declined to discuss any specific plans for the building, he said he hopes to bring back the LPO as a tenant.
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“We are planning to restore the theater,” he said, “and we are planning to work closely with the LPO, hoping they will use the theater a major portion of its open time.”
Weyand said he will reveal his plans in more detail in about a month.
The Orpheum, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and also is designated a New Orleans landmark by the Historic District Landmarks Commission, was grievously damaged in the flood following Hurricane Katrina. Water filled the basement, drowning many of the orchestra’s instruments and all of its equipment, then coursed through the first floor, covering all the chairs and rising as high as the stage.
Built in 1918 for half a million dollars, the 2,000-seat Orpheum was designed by renowned American theater architect G. Albert Lansburgh in conjunction with local architect Samuel Stone. It opened in 1921 and hosted such vaudeville greats as George Burns and Gracie Allen, Fatty Arbuckle, Houdini, Jack Benny and the Marx Brothers.
In the 1930s, with vaudeville waning, the Orpheum became a movie theater, decorated in the grandiose fashion of the day. In 1979, it was scheduled for demolition but was rescued from oblivion and treated to a $3 million renovation. It reopened in 1989 as home to the LPO, whose musicians prize the auditorium for its acoustical purity.
“We would love to see the Orpheum as the home of the LPO again,” said Babs Mollere, the orchestra’s managing director. “And we would love to work with the new owner to bring the building back into commerce and create something good for us, good for him and good for the city.”
The theater, which had been on the market for years, was sold to Weyand by a consortium of local residents with an interest in supporting classical music in New Orleans. The building’s historic status guarantees that its façade cannot be altered without approval of the HDLC.
… … .
Staff writer Elizabeth Mullener can be reached at or (504) 826-3393.
Here’s an aerial shot and you can see the Joy, State Palace, Saenger, and the Orpheum, all in one shot!! If you click on the larger version, you can even zoom in closer. I assume this is probably pre-Katrina.
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