Orpheum Theatre

From the late 1950s a photo postcard view of the Orpheum along Gopher which is on the opposite side and up the street.

This is a 2009 photo.

1982 photo of the Orpheum Theatre.
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For those of you curious about the lobby, I recommend viewing the Orpheum’s Technical Specifications. The last page has a detailed floor plan of the main lobby, which faces Hennepin Avenue, and you will quickly see how the capacity of this lobby compares to the original 9th Street-facing lobby, which is now referred to as a “vestibule”, a more appropriate term for its size. The vestibule is quite awkward as it has low ceilings and its floor is severely graded to make up for the significant difference between the level of the foyer and street level.

The repositioning of the lobby adequately responds to the traffic issues when audiences arrive for a performance, but there is still a significant traffic problem when exiting. I recently attended a sold-out performance, at which I was seated toward the front on the right aisle. Ushers are positioned to prevent people from exiting onto 1st Avenue, so a majority of people go straight for the 9th Street exits (through the awkward vestibule) rather than snake back to the Hennepin Avenue entrance, which results in a pouring of people onto 9th Street due to the narrow sidewalk.

This is another night view of the Orpheum.

I just attended a session of the National Trust for Historic Preservation at this theatre. And yes, it has a very odd lobby — long and narrow. As I had to catch the bus, I wasn’t able to walk around the block to get a better idea of how it all fits together. We were told in our printed material that Bob Dylan once owned this theatre. I don’t know how long or how it was used.

Please update the website to www.HennepinTheatreDistrict.org

Thanks!

Lost Memory: Thanks for the great collection of interior photos. Do you know whether this theatre has an organ or hopefully an original organ since it was built in 1921 and was a silent movie/vaudville house?

Neat vertical marquee!

Would like to see some interior photos.

Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996

Hennepin Theatre (added 1996 – Building – #95001548)
Also known as Hennepin Orpheum Theatre;RKO Orpheum Theatre;Orpheum Theatre
910 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis
Historic Significance: Architecture/Engineering, Event
Architect, builder, or engineer: et al., Kirchoff, Roger
Architectural Style: Beaux Arts
Area of Significance: Performing Arts, Architecture
Period of Significance: 1900-1924, 1925-1949
Owner: Local Gov’t
Historic Function: Recreation And Culture
Historic Sub-function: Theater
Current Function: Recreation And Culture
Current Sub-function: Theater

Here is a 1930 view of the marquee:
http://tinyurl.com/qq7kc

Can anyone help me make a connection between the current Orpheum theatre and SL Rothafel, “Roxy” I’ve found tons of info on his involvement with other theatres in Minneapolis but nothing really about the Orpheum.