I’m confused about the “Joy’s” sign also. This picture is definitly showing the Canal Street and Rampart Street sides of the Saenger. The “Joy’s” sign is on Rampart Street in the photo.
The Loew’s State was entered from the Canal Street entrance or the Rampart Street entrance. The upper balcony was accessed from Rampart Street and was advertised as “The finest colored balcony in the South” as is visible in old photographs. There were ticket booths at each location until the end of segregation. The Saenger also had marquees and/or signage at Canal, Rampart, and Basin streets. The Saenger was completly segregated so there was no seperate entrance for African-Americans. I believe that the Saenger used the Canal Street entrance, where a freestanding ticket booth once stood, and the adjoining arcade as a holding area for patrons. The Rampart and Basin Street entrances served primarily as exits from the Grand Foyer. When the Saenger was piggy-back twinned in 1964, the Rampart Street entrance became the entrance for the Saenger Orleans (upstairs theatre). A ticket booth was installed at this entrance and an escalator was installed in the grand foyer to transport partons to the balcony foyer (former Art Salon). The Canal Street entrance no has not had a ticket booth since the theatre was restored in 1980.
I passed by the Saenger on 09-01-06. It is locked up tight and all the windows are covered to prevent people from looking in. It appears that nothing is going on. I must have been mistaken when I posted my comment on 06-27-06. The scaffolding that was present in the theatre may have been there prior to hurricane Katrina – there was restoration work going on before the storm. Does anyone know what’s going on with this theatre?
The Orpheum Theater, onetime vaudeville house, longtime movie palace and recently home of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, has been sold to Dallas businessman Rick Weyand for $675,000.
Located at 129 University Place, across from the Fairmont Hotel and a block off Canal Street, the Orpheum is a jewel-box of a building with an ornate Beaux-Arts façade, celebrated for its elegant terra-cotta panels representing drama, music and dance.
Although Weyand declined to discuss any specific plans for the building, he said he hopes to bring back the LPO as a tenant.
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“We are planning to restore the theater,” he said, “and we are planning to work closely with the LPO, hoping they will use the theater a major portion of its open time.”
Weyand said he will reveal his plans in more detail in about a month.
The Orpheum, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and also is designated a New Orleans landmark by the Historic District Landmarks Commission, was grievously damaged in the flood following Hurricane Katrina. Water filled the basement, drowning many of the orchestra’s instruments and all of its equipment, then coursed through the first floor, covering all the chairs and rising as high as the stage.
Built in 1918 for half a million dollars, the 2,000-seat Orpheum was designed by renowned American theater architect G. Albert Lansburgh in conjunction with local architect Samuel Stone. It opened in 1921 and hosted such vaudeville greats as George Burns and Gracie Allen, Fatty Arbuckle, Houdini, Jack Benny and the Marx Brothers.
In the 1930s, with vaudeville waning, the Orpheum became a movie theater, decorated in the grandiose fashion of the day. In 1979, it was scheduled for demolition but was rescued from oblivion and treated to a $3 million renovation. It reopened in 1989 as home to the LPO, whose musicians prize the auditorium for its acoustical purity.
“We would love to see the Orpheum as the home of the LPO again,” said Babs Mollere, the orchestra’s managing director. “And we would love to work with the new owner to bring the building back into commerce and create something good for us, good for him and good for the city.”
The theater, which had been on the market for years, was sold to Weyand by a consortium of local residents with an interest in supporting classical music in New Orleans. The building’s historic status guarantees that its façade cannot be altered without approval of the HDLC.
… … .
Staff writer Elizabeth Mullener can be reached at or (504) 826-3393.
I passed by the Saenger Theatre on 6-24-06 and looked through the stage loading door. There is scaffolding on both sides of the auditorium and a deck which completely blocks the view of the sky/ceiling. It appears that ceiling restoration is underway. The owners have been quiet about the hurricane Katrina repairs. Does anyone know the full scope of work that is being done? Who is the architect? Who is the contractor?
The following is in response to Will Duncan’s post of 2004. I visited the Orpheum several times in the late seventies before the renovation was undertaken. I also have copies of the original architectural drawings of this theatre (available on microfilm at the Louisiana Divisoion of the New Orleans Public Library – Main Branch). The facade does mask alleys on either side of the building but is not contiguous with adjacent properties. The lobby is quite small and was faced in ornamental terra cotta, some of which can still be viewed on the lobby ceiling. Much of this was destroyed in an earlier renovation. The orchestra foyer mentioned above did not exist until the mid 1980’s, when the last rows or the orchestra floor were removed and a wall was erected to create more lobby space. A “motion picture box”-projection room-is shown at the rear of the first balcony on both the original floor plan and longitudinal building section. The Historic New Orleans Collection has vintage photos of the building interior including some that show what appears to be a 1930’s renovation which attemps to make the interior more move palace-like.
The following article appeared in the Times-Picayune on 05-27-06 regarding the Orpheum Theatre.
“In the past, we always knew where we would be playing — the Orpheum was our home,” says Greg Miller, trombonist and operations manager of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.
No more.
The fanciful 19th-century building, which began life as a vaudeville hall, was gravely damaged by the floodwaters that followed Hurricane Katrina, coursing through the first floor, rising to the level of the stage, ruining all of the chairs and drowning all the orchestra’s equipment, which had been stored in the basement.
Since then, the orchestra has been playing in other venues around town — Dixon Hall at Tulane University, Roussel Hall at Loyola University, the First Baptist Church off Canal Boulevard — all of them smaller and less congenial for the LPO.
But there is a glimmer of hope. Henry O'Connor Jr., a local lawyer representing the building’s owners, says a buyer has been found for the Orpheum.
“We have reached an agreement to sell it,” O'Connor said, “but the contract isn’t final yet. It has not become binding.”
Although O'Connor declined to identify the buyer, LPO sources suggest that he is a Texas businessman who is interested in renovating the building and installing the orchestra once again as its major tenant.
In fact, the Orpheum has been on the market for years. Owned by a consortium of local residents with an interest in supporting classical music in New Orleans, it has on at least one other occasion appeared to be on the brink of changing hands. But the deal fell through in the end.
“There is nothing permanent or final,” O'Connor said of the pending deal. “The purchaser is still reviewing the property — primarily a physical inspection — to determine what it would cost to do what the purchaser intends to do with it, whatever that might be.”
Since the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, its fate is somewhat protected. So there is the possibility, no matter who owns it, that it will one day be restored and could, once again, be home to the LPO.
The musicians would be delighted.
“Acoustically, the Orpheum is a gem,” says Michael Bucalo, trumpeter and onetime president of the orchestra. “And it offers this quality of intimacy with the audience. It was a critical component to our lives here.”
… … .
Staff writer Elizabeth Mullener can be reached at or (504) 826-3393.
The once grand OrHurricane
pheum Theater filled with floodwater after
Does anyone know the current status of the Orpheum? All of this talk about not bringing it back is ridiculous. This building is owned by Freport McMoRan – a fortune 500 company and Stone Energy. They definitly have the resources to restore this building.
The Civic Theatre still stands in New Orleans. This theatre was constructed as a legimate playhouse in about 1914. Sam Stone was the architect. It went through a number of name changes prior to being named the Civic. In fact a contest was held to rename the theatre. The name had been the Poche Theatre. There was a limit of 5 letters in the new name contest so that the existing sign could be reused. In the late fifties and early sixties the theatre hosted road show presentations of Ben-Hur and West Side Story. Before hurricane Katrina, the building was undergoing the worst kind of adapative reuse. The auditorium was being filled with condos!. I don’t know the status of this project since the storm.
The film that Ignatius is wathcing in the excerpt above is “Jumbo”, staring Doris Day and released by MGM in 1961. He refers to Doris Day as his “ favorite ingenue” a few times in the book. Additionaly, later in the book, Ignatius goes to the RKO Orpheum on University Place in New Orleans to see “That Touch of Mink”, starring Doris Day and Cary Grant, released by Universal in 1962. This may not be quiet correct in that the Joy Theatre on Canal Street had a virtual monopoly on Universal releases up to the mid-1970’s. Early on in the Book Ignatius states that he was conceived after his parents attended a screening of “Red Dust” (Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Mary Astor, MGM 1932) at the Prytania Theatre; his father never went to the movies again.
From looking at the photos it appears that the sky in the Chicago Paradise extends down closer to the floor than at any other atmospheric theatre I have looked at. This could have been a cause of the acoustic problems. I know that the ceilings of atmospheric theatres were acoustically treated to reduce the reverberation. For example, the ceiling of the Saenger Theatre in New Orleans is covered in deep blue horse hair product. This sofents both the visual and acoustic properties of the plaster sky.
The Famous Theatre was a “backward theatre”. I went there about twice a week for the first twelve years of my life. I saw double features during the week and the kiddie matinee on Saturdays – lots of Elvis and American International pictures accompanied by 45 minutes of Warner Brothers cartoons. I wish I could go back.
The Saenger Theatre was subdivided into two theatres in 1964 – The Saenger and The Saenger Orleans. At this time the vast majority of the antiques, statues, paintings, and chandeliers were sold at auction to finance the renovation. Because the stairs to the balcony are accessed from the orchestra foyer, an escalator was installed in the main lobby to speed patrons to the balcony foyer. In the 1960’s the Saenger Orleans was considered the finest theatre on Canal Street. Champagne was served at the concession stand and the theater had excellent sound and projection equipment. Sadly, prior to The Civil Rights Act, African Americans were not admitted to this theatre. The Loew’s State, located directly across Canal Street from the Saenger, had the finest segregated balcony of any of the downtown theatres.
I’m confused about the “Joy’s” sign also. This picture is definitly showing the Canal Street and Rampart Street sides of the Saenger. The “Joy’s” sign is on Rampart Street in the photo.
The Loew’s State was entered from the Canal Street entrance or the Rampart Street entrance. The upper balcony was accessed from Rampart Street and was advertised as “The finest colored balcony in the South” as is visible in old photographs. There were ticket booths at each location until the end of segregation. The Saenger also had marquees and/or signage at Canal, Rampart, and Basin streets. The Saenger was completly segregated so there was no seperate entrance for African-Americans. I believe that the Saenger used the Canal Street entrance, where a freestanding ticket booth once stood, and the adjoining arcade as a holding area for patrons. The Rampart and Basin Street entrances served primarily as exits from the Grand Foyer. When the Saenger was piggy-back twinned in 1964, the Rampart Street entrance became the entrance for the Saenger Orleans (upstairs theatre). A ticket booth was installed at this entrance and an escalator was installed in the grand foyer to transport partons to the balcony foyer (former Art Salon). The Canal Street entrance no has not had a ticket booth since the theatre was restored in 1980.
I passed by the Saenger on 09-01-06. It is locked up tight and all the windows are covered to prevent people from looking in. It appears that nothing is going on. I must have been mistaken when I posted my comment on 06-27-06. The scaffolding that was present in the theatre may have been there prior to hurricane Katrina – there was restoration work going on before the storm. Does anyone know what’s going on with this theatre?
That Paradise Theatre is located at Universal Studios Florida. It is a take-off on the Times Square Paramount facade and marquee.
Here is the latest news on the Orpheum Theatre
The Orpheum Theater, onetime vaudeville house, longtime movie palace and recently home of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, has been sold to Dallas businessman Rick Weyand for $675,000.
Located at 129 University Place, across from the Fairmont Hotel and a block off Canal Street, the Orpheum is a jewel-box of a building with an ornate Beaux-Arts façade, celebrated for its elegant terra-cotta panels representing drama, music and dance.
Although Weyand declined to discuss any specific plans for the building, he said he hopes to bring back the LPO as a tenant.
Advertisement
“We are planning to restore the theater,” he said, “and we are planning to work closely with the LPO, hoping they will use the theater a major portion of its open time.”
Weyand said he will reveal his plans in more detail in about a month.
The Orpheum, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and also is designated a New Orleans landmark by the Historic District Landmarks Commission, was grievously damaged in the flood following Hurricane Katrina. Water filled the basement, drowning many of the orchestra’s instruments and all of its equipment, then coursed through the first floor, covering all the chairs and rising as high as the stage.
Built in 1918 for half a million dollars, the 2,000-seat Orpheum was designed by renowned American theater architect G. Albert Lansburgh in conjunction with local architect Samuel Stone. It opened in 1921 and hosted such vaudeville greats as George Burns and Gracie Allen, Fatty Arbuckle, Houdini, Jack Benny and the Marx Brothers.
In the 1930s, with vaudeville waning, the Orpheum became a movie theater, decorated in the grandiose fashion of the day. In 1979, it was scheduled for demolition but was rescued from oblivion and treated to a $3 million renovation. It reopened in 1989 as home to the LPO, whose musicians prize the auditorium for its acoustical purity.
“We would love to see the Orpheum as the home of the LPO again,” said Babs Mollere, the orchestra’s managing director. “And we would love to work with the new owner to bring the building back into commerce and create something good for us, good for him and good for the city.”
The theater, which had been on the market for years, was sold to Weyand by a consortium of local residents with an interest in supporting classical music in New Orleans. The building’s historic status guarantees that its façade cannot be altered without approval of the HDLC.
… … .
Staff writer Elizabeth Mullener can be reached at or (504) 826-3393.
I passed by the Saenger Theatre on 6-24-06 and looked through the stage loading door. There is scaffolding on both sides of the auditorium and a deck which completely blocks the view of the sky/ceiling. It appears that ceiling restoration is underway. The owners have been quiet about the hurricane Katrina repairs. Does anyone know the full scope of work that is being done? Who is the architect? Who is the contractor?
The following is in response to Will Duncan’s post of 2004. I visited the Orpheum several times in the late seventies before the renovation was undertaken. I also have copies of the original architectural drawings of this theatre (available on microfilm at the Louisiana Divisoion of the New Orleans Public Library – Main Branch). The facade does mask alleys on either side of the building but is not contiguous with adjacent properties. The lobby is quite small and was faced in ornamental terra cotta, some of which can still be viewed on the lobby ceiling. Much of this was destroyed in an earlier renovation. The orchestra foyer mentioned above did not exist until the mid 1980’s, when the last rows or the orchestra floor were removed and a wall was erected to create more lobby space. A “motion picture box”-projection room-is shown at the rear of the first balcony on both the original floor plan and longitudinal building section. The Historic New Orleans Collection has vintage photos of the building interior including some that show what appears to be a 1930’s renovation which attemps to make the interior more move palace-like.
The following article appeared in the Times-Picayune on 05-27-06 regarding the Orpheum Theatre.
“In the past, we always knew where we would be playing — the Orpheum was our home,” says Greg Miller, trombonist and operations manager of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.
No more.
The fanciful 19th-century building, which began life as a vaudeville hall, was gravely damaged by the floodwaters that followed Hurricane Katrina, coursing through the first floor, rising to the level of the stage, ruining all of the chairs and drowning all the orchestra’s equipment, which had been stored in the basement.
Since then, the orchestra has been playing in other venues around town — Dixon Hall at Tulane University, Roussel Hall at Loyola University, the First Baptist Church off Canal Boulevard — all of them smaller and less congenial for the LPO.
But there is a glimmer of hope. Henry O'Connor Jr., a local lawyer representing the building’s owners, says a buyer has been found for the Orpheum.
“We have reached an agreement to sell it,” O'Connor said, “but the contract isn’t final yet. It has not become binding.”
Although O'Connor declined to identify the buyer, LPO sources suggest that he is a Texas businessman who is interested in renovating the building and installing the orchestra once again as its major tenant.
In fact, the Orpheum has been on the market for years. Owned by a consortium of local residents with an interest in supporting classical music in New Orleans, it has on at least one other occasion appeared to be on the brink of changing hands. But the deal fell through in the end.
“There is nothing permanent or final,” O'Connor said of the pending deal. “The purchaser is still reviewing the property — primarily a physical inspection — to determine what it would cost to do what the purchaser intends to do with it, whatever that might be.”
Since the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, its fate is somewhat protected. So there is the possibility, no matter who owns it, that it will one day be restored and could, once again, be home to the LPO.
The musicians would be delighted.
“Acoustically, the Orpheum is a gem,” says Michael Bucalo, trumpeter and onetime president of the orchestra. “And it offers this quality of intimacy with the audience. It was a critical component to our lives here.”
… … .
Staff writer Elizabeth Mullener can be reached at or (504) 826-3393.
The once grand OrHurricane
pheum Theater filled with floodwater after
Does anyone know the current status of the Orpheum? All of this talk about not bringing it back is ridiculous. This building is owned by Freport McMoRan – a fortune 500 company and Stone Energy. They definitly have the resources to restore this building.
The Civic Theatre still stands in New Orleans. This theatre was constructed as a legimate playhouse in about 1914. Sam Stone was the architect. It went through a number of name changes prior to being named the Civic. In fact a contest was held to rename the theatre. The name had been the Poche Theatre. There was a limit of 5 letters in the new name contest so that the existing sign could be reused. In the late fifties and early sixties the theatre hosted road show presentations of Ben-Hur and West Side Story. Before hurricane Katrina, the building was undergoing the worst kind of adapative reuse. The auditorium was being filled with condos!. I don’t know the status of this project since the storm.
The current facade has been there since at least the mid 1970’s. I started going to the Prytania at that time while attenting Tulane University.
The film that Ignatius is wathcing in the excerpt above is “Jumbo”, staring Doris Day and released by MGM in 1961. He refers to Doris Day as his “ favorite ingenue” a few times in the book. Additionaly, later in the book, Ignatius goes to the RKO Orpheum on University Place in New Orleans to see “That Touch of Mink”, starring Doris Day and Cary Grant, released by Universal in 1962. This may not be quiet correct in that the Joy Theatre on Canal Street had a virtual monopoly on Universal releases up to the mid-1970’s. Early on in the Book Ignatius states that he was conceived after his parents attended a screening of “Red Dust” (Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Mary Astor, MGM 1932) at the Prytania Theatre; his father never went to the movies again.
From looking at the photos it appears that the sky in the Chicago Paradise extends down closer to the floor than at any other atmospheric theatre I have looked at. This could have been a cause of the acoustic problems. I know that the ceilings of atmospheric theatres were acoustically treated to reduce the reverberation. For example, the ceiling of the Saenger Theatre in New Orleans is covered in deep blue horse hair product. This sofents both the visual and acoustic properties of the plaster sky.
The Famous Theatre was a “backward theatre”. I went there about twice a week for the first twelve years of my life. I saw double features during the week and the kiddie matinee on Saturdays – lots of Elvis and American International pictures accompanied by 45 minutes of Warner Brothers cartoons. I wish I could go back.
The Saenger Theatre was subdivided into two theatres in 1964 – The Saenger and The Saenger Orleans. At this time the vast majority of the antiques, statues, paintings, and chandeliers were sold at auction to finance the renovation. Because the stairs to the balcony are accessed from the orchestra foyer, an escalator was installed in the main lobby to speed patrons to the balcony foyer. In the 1960’s the Saenger Orleans was considered the finest theatre on Canal Street. Champagne was served at the concession stand and the theater had excellent sound and projection equipment. Sadly, prior to The Civil Rights Act, African Americans were not admitted to this theatre. The Loew’s State, located directly across Canal Street from the Saenger, had the finest segregated balcony of any of the downtown theatres.
Does anyone have any color interior photos of the theater that can be posted?