Orpheum Theatre
15 W. Aspen Avenue,
Flagstaff,
AZ
86011
15 W. Aspen Avenue,
Flagstaff,
AZ
86011
2 people
favorited this theater
Related Websites
Orpheum Theater - Flagstaff (Official)
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Harry L. Nace Theatres
Functions: Live Music Venue, Live Performances
Previous Names: Majestic Opera House, Majestic Theatre, College Theatre
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
928.556.1580
Nearby Theaters
The Majestic Opera House opened in 1911. By 1914 it had been renamed Majestic Theatre. On December 31, 1915 the roof collapsed due to the weight of snow. It was rebuilt and reopened in 1917 as the Orpheum Theatre. It was renamed College Theatre in 1930. It was renamed Orpheum Theatre in 1933. By 1950 it was operated by the Harry L. Nace Theatres chain. The Orpheum Theatre’s interior is decorated with velvet tapestries and Victorian ornamentation.
The theatre is located next to the turn-of-the-century Weatherford Hotel, in downtown Flagstaff.
Contributed by
John Davis
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Recent comments (view all 16 comments)
I have visited AZ in past years…Scottsdale, Phoenix, Sedona, Tucson, Grand Canyon, but would entertain the thought of returning again in the near future to visit your “busy little town” of Flagstaff and this time to check out the many theatres especially the Orpheum in Phoenix as it is atmospheric.
Here is another photo of the Orpheum:
http://tinyurl.com/yuzowh
A 1973 view of the Orpheum Theater in Flagstaff.
Neat looking building. We can assume the original Orpheum name built into the brickwork is safely behind that newer facade.
The Orpheum’s website history though, doesn’t say when the newer facade was installed. Obviously before the 1973 photo. Maybe late
50's early60’s given the style?Looks like their band schedule is a little thin as of now. I thought maybe The Misfits was a screening of the 1960 Gable/Monroe film, set in a Western town. The skull logo though solved that.
Not far off though, as The Misfits was easily one of the most depressing films I’d ever seen.
This is from Boxoffice magazine, November 1947:
FLAGSTAFF-Northern Arizona Theaters has closed the Orpheum here until about the first of the year to permit extensive remodeling. Clarence Shartzer, manager, said the work would cost about $100,000.
An addition which would increase the capacity to more than 1,000 persons was largely built before the Orpheum closed. Further improvements will include a new floor, new stage, pushback seats, new projection and sound equipment, an enlarged foyer and a new front.
From 2006 a photo of the Orpheum Theater in Flagstaff.
Prior to 1933 this house was called the College Theatre. The name change was noted in the “Theater Changes” column of the January 31 issue of The Film Daily that year.
Updated website link: http://www.orpheumflagstaff.com/ Also showing films on occasion.
This brief article from the Arizona Daily Sun of December 10, 2015, is about the Orpheum, with a slide show of five photos. The house was built by John Weatherford of the adjacent Weatherford’s Hotel in 1911, and operated as the Majestic Opera House. The house was listed as the Majestic Theatre in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory.
In late December, 1915, a storm dropped some sixty inches of snow on Flagstaff. A maintenance man, thinking to melt away some of the snow and reduce the weight on the theater’s roof, sprayed it with water, precipitating its collapse on New Year’s Eve. The house was eventually rebuilt and reopened as the Orpheum Theatre.
The Orpheum was listed in the FDY through 1929, but in 1930 began being listed as the College Theatre. In 1933 the name Orpheum was restored.
From their website it looks like they only do live shows nowadays.