Orpheum Theatre

There’s not a lot of info about both its early and war days, as the Orpheum Theatre opened in the 1910’s as both a vaudeville and movie house, which would eventually become a full-time movie house later on.

The Orpheum Theatre operated for decades, but did close in April 1965 because the manager, Walt Weverstad, had to rush back to his home in Centerville, South Dakota, to take care of his wife who is diagnosed with an illness and participate in the funeral of his mother. The Orpheum Theatre reopened later that year but closed again on January 1, 1966 after Weverstad sold the theatre to Le Mars residents Don Yoerger and Chuck Houston, and the Orpheum Theatre reopened again on May 27, 1966 with James Stewart in “Shenandoah”. Yoerger and Houston’s management didn’t last long, and on August 31, 1967, the Orpheum Theatre was taken over by Darrell Reiter, also from Le Mars.

Unfortunately it appears that Reiter’s operations didn’t last long. The Orpheum Theatre closed for the final time on June 24, 1968 with Walt Disney’s “The Happiest Millionaire” starring Tommy Steele.

However, a little incident happened after closure. Two unknown-modeled cars collided with each other in front of the Orpheum Theatre building exactly two weeks after closure, with one of the cars backing away from the curb. Despite no injuries, the police estimate $60 damage to each of the two vehicles.

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