*In 1964, its vast balcony was walled off and transformed into a second auditorium, known as the Saenger Orleans. *
I’m not so sure about that date. The balcony was walled off and turned into “Jim Crow” theater for blacks at least five earlier. It became truly a second screen in 1964, when the Civil Rights Act passed that year outlawed segregated public facilities.
The Pitt theater was a huge old single-screen theater in Gentilly until the late 1970s, when it was split in two and became dual-screen. It also shifted format to become a “discount” theater at that time. I remember seeing “Star Wars” (ep 4) there three times in a row for like $2. It was split once again into four screens in the mid-1980s and became a “dollar theater.” It was owned by the Pittman family (hence the name), and, if memory serves me, the family sold the property to Walgreens when the old man died.
The corner of the building closest to the intersection of Elysian Fields and Robt. E. Lee was separate retail space, occupied by a Mexican fast-food place called “Taco Tico.”
*In 1964, its vast balcony was walled off and transformed into a second auditorium, known as the Saenger Orleans. *
I’m not so sure about that date. The balcony was walled off and turned into “Jim Crow” theater for blacks at least five earlier. It became truly a second screen in 1964, when the Civil Rights Act passed that year outlawed segregated public facilities.
The Pitt theater was a huge old single-screen theater in Gentilly until the late 1970s, when it was split in two and became dual-screen. It also shifted format to become a “discount” theater at that time. I remember seeing “Star Wars” (ep 4) there three times in a row for like $2. It was split once again into four screens in the mid-1980s and became a “dollar theater.” It was owned by the Pittman family (hence the name), and, if memory serves me, the family sold the property to Walgreens when the old man died.
The corner of the building closest to the intersection of Elysian Fields and Robt. E. Lee was separate retail space, occupied by a Mexican fast-food place called “Taco Tico.”