Orpheum Theatre
146 Main Avenue North,
Twin Falls,
ID
83301
146 Main Avenue North,
Twin Falls,
ID
83301
1 person
favorited this theater
The Orpheum Theatre opened in October 1921, with 900 seats.. In the 1950’s, when it was an Intermountain Theatre, many considered the Orpheum Theatre to have the sharpest, although small, Cinemascope screen in Idaho. This was probably because the projection booth was built downstairs instead of in the balcony, giving a rather short and direct throw.
The Orpheum Theatre still has a very sharp and small picture but when the lights go down in the restored 1920’s auditorium, the walls seem to close in giving a very intimate viewing experience. The balcony is closed now with its approximately 250 seats removed.
In contrast to the auditorium, the concession stand and outer lobby have a clean, contemporary look. It used to have a full marquee and now it has one that sits flush with the front of the building.
In keeping with downtown urban renewal that began in 1970, it was called the Mall Cinema for many years and then changed back to the Orpheum Theatre in the late-1990’s to reflect its location in Historic Old Towne, a part of the Twin Falls Downtown Historic District. The district was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.
Another downtown theater, the Idaho Theatre, was completely demolished. The Orpheum Theatre is now operated by Interstate Amusement.
Contributed by
Ron Pierce
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Web site for the Orpheum and Interstate Entertainment.
www.magicvalley.com
According to the 1956 Film Daily Yearbook, the Orpheum Theater originally seated 731. The balcony was quite a bit larger than the main floor and could easily have seated about 430-plus.
The Orpheum also had a relatively small stage for occasional live performances. the auditorium itself was very ornate, with a back-lit proscenium arch over the stage and dome-shaped molding in the ceiling.
The Orpheum’s first CInemaScope presentation was “Rose Marie,” in the spring of 1954 — coinciding with the arrival of Twin Falls' first local TV station.
Probably because it was then operated by Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Theatres, the Orpheum frequently played major first-run films abouit the same time they were playing in Boise and Salt Lake City.
“The Ten Commandments” played for nearly three weeks — an unprecedented long-run in a town where most films played for just a week or less.
During the mid-1950s I worked at both the Orpheum and the Idaho as a ticket-taking doorman (in a uniform that looked like Harold Hill’s in “The Music Man”), canged the marquees and assisted the assistant manager when the manager was on vacagtion.
Most of the memorable old Magic Valley theaters have long since disappeared, but the Orpheum is still a commanding presence on Main Street in downtown Twin Falls.
Here is a 1931 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/yeouq5h
Photo is not there anymore.
Cosmic observation of the day: all of the theaters listed for TWIN Falls…are single screens.
Happy Birthday! The Orpheum is 90 years old. After 16 months of construction, which began in June of 1920, It opened on October 31, 1921. The Twin Falls Daily News on opening day said the Architect was J.H. Dodd and there was seating for 900. The opening attraction was Mary Pickford in ‘Thru the Back Door.’ The projection room was built with 14-inch concrete walls, making it absolutely fireproof. The T-F-A- chiseled into the upper façade of the building stands for “Twin Falls Amusement.” Some of the known operators were H.H. Hedstrom, its builder, (1921-1931), Publix Theatres (1931-36), Intermountain Theatres (1936-1975) and currently Interstate Amusements (1976-present). Interstate purchased the building in 1976, removed the overhanging marquee and replaced it with one that is flush with the remodeled façade. The Times-News said the carpeting, drapes and seating were replaced and the ticket booth moved inside. It was renamed the Mall Cinema until 1997 when it again became the Orpheum. On October 31, 2011, the attraction Orpheum moviegoers went to see was Justin Timberlake starring in ‘Time.’