Garden Theatre
3312 Magazine Street,
New Orleans,
LA
70115
3312 Magazine Street,
New Orleans,
LA
70115
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Additional Info
Functions: Retail
Previous Names: U.S. Auditorium, U.S. Theatre, United States Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The U.S. Auditorium was located on Magazine Street at Toledano Street. Opened on December 22, 1915. It was equipped with a Wurlitzer organ. In 1917 it was renamed U.S. Theatre and by 1918 it was the United States Theatre when it had 1,000-seats. Following a refresh it reopened as the Garden Theatre on September 12, 1931 with Gary Cooper in “City Streets”. The seating capacity was later reduced to 800-seats.
The Garden Theatre closed in the mid-1950’s, but was reopened on March 20, 1959 screening Spanish language movies. It was closed on November 29, 1959. It briefly became a church, then reopened in June 1963, The Garden Theatre was closed on November 14, 1965 with Elvis Presley in “Tickle Me”. It has since been retrofitted for retail usage.
Contributed by
Chuck
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Announcing a book about New Orleans Movie Theaters
THEREâ€\S ONE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
The History of the Neighborhood Theaters in New Orleans
is being written by 89-year-old Rene Brunet, the dean of the motion picture industry in Louisiana, and New Orleans historian and preservationist Jack Stewart. The 160-page,coffee table book will be released in November and is being published by Arthur Hardy Enterprises, Inc. Attention will be focused on 50 major neighborhood and downtown theaters, culled from a list of nearly 250 that have dotted the cityâ€\s landscape since the first “nickelodeon†opened in 1896 at 626 Canal Street. The book will be divided by neighborhoods and will open with a map and a narrative about each area. Each major theater will feature “then and now†photographs, historic information, and a short series of quotes from famous New Orleanians and from regular citizens who will share their recollections.
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED
We are trying to acquire memorabilia and additional photos of this theater for this publication. (deadline July 1.) You will be credited in the book and receive a free autographed copy if we publish the picture that you supply. Please contact Arthur Hardy at or call 504-913-1563 if you can help.
March 6, 1951 photo here (zoom in): http://cdm16313.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/CLF/id/8522/rec/27
Boxoffice of March 30, 1959, reported that H. A. Greenlin, operator of the Avenue Theatre, had reopened the Garden Theatre with Spanish language films. Several Latin American live performers and a feature film made up the opening program.
The U.S. Auditorium opened here on December 22, 1915. The opening films were accompanied by a Wurlitzer organ. Operator W.G. Teabault did something fairly uncommon for a movie theater in 1916 in New Orleans - he operated it as a soda fountain theater instead of relying on an adjacent concessionaire. This was so successful that the theater’s capacity was raised the next year and its name slightly changed to the U.S. Theatre aka the United States Theater in 1918 then with 1,000 seats.
The U.S. Theatre was wired for disc-based sound. But under new operators, it closed in September of 1931 for a refresh and improved RCA Photophone sound on film with new Simplex projectors. The renamed Garden Theatre opened on September 12, 1931 with Gary Cooper in “City Streets.” It was converted to widescreen projection in the 1950s to present CinemaScope titles reducing to 800 seats.
The theatre scuffled in the television era and offered for sale in 1956, 1957 and 1958. Under new operator Harold A. Greenlin, it became a Spanish language venue on March 20, 1959 with Pedro Infante in “Escuele de Rateros.” That same year it was briefly rebranded under new operators as the Garden Art Theatre reducing seating capacity to 550 but needing far fewer chairs. The Garden ended operations on November 29, 1959. A tax lien was its last listing.
New operators relit the venue as a theater in 1961 briefly. It was used for church services in 1962 as the Garden Auditorium. It returned as a movie theater for its final stretch in June of 1963. The Garden finally wilted on November 14, 1965 with Elvis Presley in “Tickle Me” with the second of two 20-year leasing periods ending. In 1966, it was converted to a furniture making facility.