Panorama Theatre
229 Baronne Street,
New Orleans,
LA
70112
229 Baronne Street,
New Orleans,
LA
70112
2 people
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Legendary New York showman S.L. Rothafel programmed the first night of Saenger’s new-build Strand Theatre. The Strand opened on July 4, 1917 with the Hope-Jones $20,000 Orchestral Pipe Organ wowing opening night patrons. The films “Wild & Wooly” and “Who’s Baby?” played on opening night.
The venue added sound to remain viable. But it was dropped by Saenger on January 29, 1933 as the theater had been surpassed by a new breed of destination movie palaces. G&G Theaters, Inc. and C.L. Lanier arranged a sublease late in 1934 reopening it briefly beginning on February 2, 1935 - two years after it had initially closed - unsuccessfully. The Strand was used for church services and some live vaudeville later that year.
But the Strand got a new operator who gave it a streamline moderne makeover at its reopening as a second-run house, the New Strand, on June 21, 1936 with “Everybody’s Old Man.” It was rebranded as the Joy Strand in 1937 on a deep discount, third-run double-feature grind policy with nickel and dime price points as the theatre hustled for any coin it could still suffering against far superior movie houses.
The Strand was closed in July of 1953 for an overhaul to widescreen projection - at a cost of an austere $6,000 (and presumably cleaned, though not guaranteed) - and was ready to reopen as the Paramount Theatre. But at the last minute, it was changed to the Panorama Theatre, likely to avoid a naming dispute, opening August 14, 1953 with “Salome.” The venue finally ground to a halt on September 20, 1959 with a decidedly non-Panoramic double-feature of “Louisiana Hussy” and “Naughty New Orleans” and mercifully closed. It was demolished shortly thereafter in 1960 in favor a new skyscraper.
Sorry folks, this theater was open till at least 1959 when I saw the original screening of Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty with my mom. I remember well that the theater was quite old, but what I remember best is that my mom bought me a Sleeping Beauty souvenir from a table of merchandise outside the entry doors in the arcade. It would be nice if someone would post interior photos of this theater.
Per a check of the Times-Picayune back issues, the general release (not roadshow) first run of “Raintree County” at the Panorama was held December 25th, 1957 through March 4th, 1958.
In my previous comment, my better guess is that I saw RAINTREE COUNTY at the Panaroma in New Orleans in 1958 rather than 1957.
I have a vivid recollection of seeing RAINTREE COUNTY here in its “roadshow” engagement in 1957 while I was a student at Tulane University. I loved it. My only negative was the fact that the “waterfall” screen curtain was lowered too soon right at the end of the film destroying a moment 3 hours in the making! As with the legend, pleasures/experiences along the journey are more important than whatever you find or don’t find at the journey’s end.
<<< Decades later, in an attempt to lure away audiences from television, a vast curved screen was installed, and the Strand Theatre became New Orleans' first movie house to screen films in the “Todd A-O” process for several years. >>>
This is correct except that at that time the theater was called the Panorama.
In 1937, Joy Houck leased the Strand Theatre and operated it until it closed in 1958. At this time, he re-named the theatre Joy Strand. I remember my father telling me that this was a popular spot for kids to go while playing hookie from school. Here’s a photo of the Joy Strand:
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