Hehe that brings back a memory… I remember the whole time the State was getting redone, and the mall around it was still under construction, there were dozens of plaster workers camped out in the surrounding unoccupied shop space. You could walk past on the street and see them pouring ornate moldings and such for the restoration of the theatre. Not something one gets to watch very often! And there was crumbled gold foil all over the floor in that outer lobby. That and loads and loads of white dust.
By the way the photo posted above is of the outer lobby which relatively plain by comparison. The inner lobby (or downstairs ‘mezzanine’ or whatever you’d call it… it’s a lobby but it’s only separated from the room by some curtains) is where the really eye-popping stuff is, with hundreds of paint colors, murals, dangling glass fruit, etc. Definitely worth finding a photo of somewhere.
I am somewhat familiar with this theater having worked there as a backstage janitor for 10 months or so immediately after it re-opened from being remodeled. It is beautifully restored with full color plaster, murals, gold leaf, colored glass fruit hanging from the chandeliers, the whole nine yards. When it was remodeled everything else on the block was torn down except for the YMCA building on the opposite corner (also historic) and a mall was built around the theater incorporating it fully. Only the facade shows on the outside. The stage, flyloft, dressing rooms, physical plant etc. etc. are all brand new as of the 90’s. However the front of house and lobby are original and restored as faithfully as possible.
An interesting story, I did not see this with my own eyes but I was told by the T.D. that they wanted to retain the original orchestra pit too, but apparently the wrong dimension slab had been poured under it all those many years ago when the theatre was originally built. Unbeknownst to anybody the pillars supporting the pit were halfway off the back of the slab and when the back part of the building was torn down the orchestra pit fell out and collapsed. Or so I am told.
Well, if anybody wants to know anything I might be able to answer, feel free to write.
I worked there from about 1990-1992 and was told that this entrance is a second one that was built after the original entrance on 9th street proved unable to handle large volumes of traffic. This one houses the audience waiting to get in in a huge lobby/hallway about half a block long that leads to the original theater building. You can see how skinny it is in the photo. The bulk of the theater is on the other side of the block, between 9th and 10th and the side is on 1st Av N.
Here’s a 1922 picture of the old entrance and the theater proper (I’m not sure if this is how the entrance looked when the theater was new or not):
The theatre actually did become a concert and dance venue (called the Varsity) for approximately a year from 1990-1991. It offered alternative dance nights such as Industrial, hip-hop, and gay night, as well as foreign films like Cinema Paradiso, theatrical performances, and live music including death metal and hip hop. The “fierce battle” mentioned above was mainly because the club did not serve the university directly adjacent, but brought in outside crowds. The wrong sort of crowds in some people’s opinions, though there were surprisingly no incidents of violence at any of the shows (the club was non-alcoholic and all ages which makes a big difference). The club was shut down by the City of Minneapolis after 1 year, I shan’t say much about that but email me if you want the details as I was there for most of it.
Possibly of interest to theater buffs:
In 1990 when the abovementioned nightclub person took the building over, he found it already gutted, with no theatrical equipment, seats, concession equipment, fire alarm system, etc. although there were 2 movie screens, a modern one still mounted and a silver screen in storage. There were also a couple VOT speakers hidden behind the hung screen. I seem to recall the historical information he’d collected indicated the theatre was originally built for both movies and vaudville around 1915ish but became higher-capacity and movies-only when it was extended lengthwise in a remodelling in the 30’s or 40’s. It was a 900 seat theatre at the time it closed as a regular movie house. There was a limestone facade and glass block windows. There was nothing resembling dressing rooms, backstage, etc. There was a quasi-flyloft looking extension to the roof but no such equipment was there and it was scarcely higher than the rest of the roof. The main room walls were covered in acoustical tile. None of the art deco lighting was still present though there was a fairly interesting 70’s-looking chandelier in the stairwell. It was basically a shell.
Speaking of the roof it was pretty much shot in 1990. Hundreds of gallons of water were coming in. All the pipes in the place had been exploded due to the water supply being left on in winter. The first acts upon taking over the theatre for a nightclub were a total electrical rewiring and plumbing replacement.
During the initial weeks of the nightclub the interior of the main room was painted black (it was red before) and the studs left over from the missing seats were ground down to leave the floor smooth for dancing. A 35mm projector and platter were purchased and installed, these did not come with the theater but were bought used elsewhere as was all concesssions equipment. A large quantity of theatrical seating was also bought used, and some was later mounted on strips to be moved around as needed. Well, I could talk quite a bit about the nightclub’s operations but that would probably be boring, so moving along.
All the new equipment was taken with when the nightclub left so the building was more or less as-was at that point. If I remember correctly, the catalog photography company took the building over about a year after the nightclub closed. They did an extensive remodelling that included installing office spaces in what had been in the lobby and mezzanine, leveling the main room’s floor and completely replacing the roof (which I heartily approve of as the old one was basically a 2 foot thick tarpaper sponge). They also installed a commercial height loading dock leading directly to the stage area. I was given a tour by someone on the construction site and was told the company could photograph anything, even items as large as automobiles. I believe they also did a partial restoration on the marquee, at least to the extent that it could be painted. I do not know if it was a full restoration or not.
About all that is left that is actually a theatre is the marquee at this point. If it were to be used as a place of entertainment again a person would have to start from scratch, equipment wise and remodelling-wise. But I bet it makes a pretty nice studio.
Write me with any questions if you like, I wasn’t sure what sort of info would interest people.
Hehe that brings back a memory… I remember the whole time the State was getting redone, and the mall around it was still under construction, there were dozens of plaster workers camped out in the surrounding unoccupied shop space. You could walk past on the street and see them pouring ornate moldings and such for the restoration of the theatre. Not something one gets to watch very often! And there was crumbled gold foil all over the floor in that outer lobby. That and loads and loads of white dust.
By the way the photo posted above is of the outer lobby which relatively plain by comparison. The inner lobby (or downstairs ‘mezzanine’ or whatever you’d call it… it’s a lobby but it’s only separated from the room by some curtains) is where the really eye-popping stuff is, with hundreds of paint colors, murals, dangling glass fruit, etc. Definitely worth finding a photo of somewhere.
Here’s an article that includes a contact email for the Varsity.
View link
I see there’s a Loring Cafe connection… too cool!!
It’s rather curious that the small marquee for this theatre is actually indoors… facing the atrium/amusement park portion of the mall.
If I am remembering correctly the rent-to-buy in 1990 was $200K-ish? Don’t know about the later two sales.
Nice high resolution photos available here… near bottom
View link
I am somewhat familiar with this theater having worked there as a backstage janitor for 10 months or so immediately after it re-opened from being remodeled. It is beautifully restored with full color plaster, murals, gold leaf, colored glass fruit hanging from the chandeliers, the whole nine yards. When it was remodeled everything else on the block was torn down except for the YMCA building on the opposite corner (also historic) and a mall was built around the theater incorporating it fully. Only the facade shows on the outside. The stage, flyloft, dressing rooms, physical plant etc. etc. are all brand new as of the 90’s. However the front of house and lobby are original and restored as faithfully as possible.
An interesting story, I did not see this with my own eyes but I was told by the T.D. that they wanted to retain the original orchestra pit too, but apparently the wrong dimension slab had been poured under it all those many years ago when the theatre was originally built. Unbeknownst to anybody the pillars supporting the pit were halfway off the back of the slab and when the back part of the building was torn down the orchestra pit fell out and collapsed. Or so I am told.
Well, if anybody wants to know anything I might be able to answer, feel free to write.
Here’s a 1925 view of the Orpheum Theater front entrance at 908-910 Hennepin Avenue. (MN Historical Society)
View link
I worked there from about 1990-1992 and was told that this entrance is a second one that was built after the original entrance on 9th street proved unable to handle large volumes of traffic. This one houses the audience waiting to get in in a huge lobby/hallway about half a block long that leads to the original theater building. You can see how skinny it is in the photo. The bulk of the theater is on the other side of the block, between 9th and 10th and the side is on 1st Av N.
Here’s a 1922 picture of the old entrance and the theater proper (I’m not sure if this is how the entrance looked when the theater was new or not):
View link
Write me if any questions… I’ll try to answer with info circa early 90’s if possible.
The theatre actually did become a concert and dance venue (called the Varsity) for approximately a year from 1990-1991. It offered alternative dance nights such as Industrial, hip-hop, and gay night, as well as foreign films like Cinema Paradiso, theatrical performances, and live music including death metal and hip hop. The “fierce battle” mentioned above was mainly because the club did not serve the university directly adjacent, but brought in outside crowds. The wrong sort of crowds in some people’s opinions, though there were surprisingly no incidents of violence at any of the shows (the club was non-alcoholic and all ages which makes a big difference). The club was shut down by the City of Minneapolis after 1 year, I shan’t say much about that but email me if you want the details as I was there for most of it.
Possibly of interest to theater buffs:
In 1990 when the abovementioned nightclub person took the building over, he found it already gutted, with no theatrical equipment, seats, concession equipment, fire alarm system, etc. although there were 2 movie screens, a modern one still mounted and a silver screen in storage. There were also a couple VOT speakers hidden behind the hung screen. I seem to recall the historical information he’d collected indicated the theatre was originally built for both movies and vaudville around 1915ish but became higher-capacity and movies-only when it was extended lengthwise in a remodelling in the 30’s or 40’s. It was a 900 seat theatre at the time it closed as a regular movie house. There was a limestone facade and glass block windows. There was nothing resembling dressing rooms, backstage, etc. There was a quasi-flyloft looking extension to the roof but no such equipment was there and it was scarcely higher than the rest of the roof. The main room walls were covered in acoustical tile. None of the art deco lighting was still present though there was a fairly interesting 70’s-looking chandelier in the stairwell. It was basically a shell.
Speaking of the roof it was pretty much shot in 1990. Hundreds of gallons of water were coming in. All the pipes in the place had been exploded due to the water supply being left on in winter. The first acts upon taking over the theatre for a nightclub were a total electrical rewiring and plumbing replacement.
During the initial weeks of the nightclub the interior of the main room was painted black (it was red before) and the studs left over from the missing seats were ground down to leave the floor smooth for dancing. A 35mm projector and platter were purchased and installed, these did not come with the theater but were bought used elsewhere as was all concesssions equipment. A large quantity of theatrical seating was also bought used, and some was later mounted on strips to be moved around as needed. Well, I could talk quite a bit about the nightclub’s operations but that would probably be boring, so moving along.
All the new equipment was taken with when the nightclub left so the building was more or less as-was at that point. If I remember correctly, the catalog photography company took the building over about a year after the nightclub closed. They did an extensive remodelling that included installing office spaces in what had been in the lobby and mezzanine, leveling the main room’s floor and completely replacing the roof (which I heartily approve of as the old one was basically a 2 foot thick tarpaper sponge). They also installed a commercial height loading dock leading directly to the stage area. I was given a tour by someone on the construction site and was told the company could photograph anything, even items as large as automobiles. I believe they also did a partial restoration on the marquee, at least to the extent that it could be painted. I do not know if it was a full restoration or not.
About all that is left that is actually a theatre is the marquee at this point. If it were to be used as a place of entertainment again a person would have to start from scratch, equipment wise and remodelling-wise. But I bet it makes a pretty nice studio.
Write me with any questions if you like, I wasn’t sure what sort of info would interest people.