Valentino Theater
2401 Frenchmen Street,
New Orleans,
LA
70119
2401 Frenchmen Street,
New Orleans,
LA
70119
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The Valentino Theater was opened prior to 1928. It was closed in November 1930 to convert to sound. It was destroyed in an explosion on December 31, 1930, according to a news item on that date in the Portsmouth (OH) Times.
Contributed by
Ken McIntyre
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I can’t link to the actual page, but I can give you the text of the news item:
BLAST WRECKS MOVIE HOUSE
Score Injured When Theater Demolished By Violent Explosion.
NEW ORLEANS. La., Dec 31.â€"Three explosions in a suburban motion-picture theater totally destroyed the structure, damaged adjacent buildings and caused minor injuries to
more than a score of persons. Those injured were mostly residents of a tenement which adjoined the theater.
The explosions aroused residents in a radius of several blocks. Police said the explosions were either due to bombs placed in the theater, to escaping gas or ignition of film. The movie house, the Valentino Theater, was a small structure. The vreckage caught fire, after the blast, destroying what was left of the building.
Most of those injured were cut by flying glass as windows throughout the neighborhood were shattered. Many of the tenement dwellers were thrown from their beds. Damage was estimated at $30,000.
Sure, RIP Valentino.
The Valentino Theater was constructed in 1927 by Frank Misuraca and Louis Chianelli at 2101 Frenchmen Street, corner of No. Galvez. It appeared to offer a mix of live performances and silent pictures. It was closed in November 1930 to convert it to “talkies,” the work had been done and it was scheduled to re-open January 1st 1932. At 3:12 a.m. on December 31, 1930, three violent explosions eminating from the rear, middle and front of the Valentino, rocked the surrounding area. Persons were thrown from their beds, and every home and store within a block of the theater had windows broken and various other damages. Investigators soon discovered the carpeting, cardboard padding beneath, and the brick debris had been soaked with a large amount of gasoline, and the explosions were set off by dynamite. Misuraca, Chianelli and an accomplace were arrested and charged with arson (but appearantly never convicted.) In March 1932, Misuraca and Chianelli lost a suit against several insurance companies who refused to pay out for the loss of the theater. The insurance companies contended that the policies were invalidated by the storage of large quantites of gasoline and other flammable materials in the building, and that the explosions and fire were caused by the plaintiffs or their agents. By May of 1932, the theater property, as well as other personal properties of the owners, were foreclosed on. A house was constructed on the site, and the entire 2100 block of Frenchmen was raised during the construction of Interstate 10 in the 1960’s. The theater site lies under the Elysian Fields exit ramp from I-10 east. Interestingly, the Valentino was the third theater in N.O. to burn in December 1930, following the Ivy and the Roseland.