Orpheum Theatre

Here is the official web site.

We’re excited to tell everyone that we are open once again with a capacity of 465 seats between our restored balcony area and the orchestra level.

We soft opened in December 2014, and had consistent events in January of 2015. The big parts of the restoration are done, but the fine tuning is ongoing.

The Orpheum Theater’s designation should be changed to “closed, restoring.” A story in the Times-News, Twin Falls' daily newspaper, on Aug. 4, 2014, said that the Orpheum had been purchased by Larry Johnson and his wife, Stephanie. Johnson is president and general manager of Twin Falls-based Locally Owned Radio, a chain of several Magic Valley radio stations. The newspaper article had several photographs of crews of volunteers replacing the 93-year-old theater’s roof. They plan to restore the theater, including replacing the now-vacant balcony, and eventually use the theater for live productions (stage plays, concerts, etc) plus occasional screenings of classic films, such as “The Rocky Horror Show.” For many years, the downtown landmark was considered the showplace of Magic Valley — an area encompassing nine counties in south-central Idaho. The Times-News article said the Johnsons plan to restore the Orpheum to “its glory days,” which would be a real boost to downtown Main Street. — Ivan M. Lincoln

The author of this article at the web site of the Twin Falls Times-News claims that the Orpheum Theatre opened in its present location in 1918 (he appears to be mistaken- see the final paragraph of our description of the Gem Theatre) after having operated on Shoshone Street North for a number of years. Its original location was on Main Street South, where it opened in 1906.

A gallery accompanies the article, with exterior photos of the Lavering Opera House and the Rialto Theatre, an interior shot of the Lyric Theatre, and an early photo of Main Street that includes the original Orpheum, which was in a tiny, wood-framed building.

We drove through Twin Falls last weekend (Sunday, June 17), and I picked up a copy of the local newspaper, the Times-News. From the theater ads, it appears that the once stately Orpheum Theatre has been down-graded to a bargain, “dollar house.”

With the opening of the new Magic Valley 13 complex on the north side of town, the fairly small town of Twin Falls now has a total of 28 screens, including two drive-ins.  The drive-ins, the Orpheum and the Twin Cinema 12 are all operated by the same corporation (which also operates a four-plex across the river in Jerome).
                Growing up, the Orpheum was the classiest showhouse in the valley. They consistently played the newest films at the same time they were showing in Salt Lake City, where the corporation that then ran both the Orpheum and Idaho was based.
                -- Ivan Lincoln
                

Photo is not there anymore.

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.