Orpheum Theatre
638 Main Street,
Lafayette,
IN
47901
638 Main Street,
Lafayette,
IN
47901
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The Orpheum Theatre was open as a movie theatre by 1914. It was remodeled in early-1917. It was still open in 1923, but had closed by 1926.
In 2025 it is in use as a real estate office.
Contributed by
Jeff Wieland
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Here is an item about the Orpheum from the January 6, 1917 issue of Motion Picture News: “INDIANA.—Lafayette: James L. Sheetz has purchased the Orpheum theatre, Lafayette, Indiana, from Charles Reichard and John Chamberlin. Mr. Sheetz will make extensive changes in the interior of the building. The seats will be rearranged, a new booth placed in the front of the house and a new lobby installed."
The Orpheum was still in operation as late as 1923, when the September 1 issue of Moving Picture World said that the house had been bought by Brooks Nixon.
The Orpheum Theatre opened its doors on September 23, 1913 with three films: “Tabeas Wants Out”, “The Hostage”, and “A Woman In The Ultimate”, along with musical performances by Frisco’s Golden Voiced Singers supported by the 14-piece Bartola Orchestra. Crawfordsville resident and former Warsaw College student Ned Smith was the Orpheum’s original manager.
Information about the Orpheum as of 1913 goes as follows: In technicolor, the original lobby and entrance was painted in dark green with the floor woodwork in mahogany finish as well as terra cotta walls. The carpet is also the same color as the walls but with a deeper shade. Starting at the base of the wall, the coloring is tan which merged into a cream finally resulting in a yellow ceiling. The panel system only adds to the attractiveness and the terra cotta raised decorations of the French renaissance cast off the high light of green from the revertible indirect system of lighting. A marble sanitary fountain also appears in the lobby, with two side entrances to the foyer are placed beside it. From the foyer, the steps to the balcony start on the left side and wind in a graceful sweep to the region above. As for the lobby and foyers, the walls are shader from dark at the base to a lighter variety towards the ceiling. All the windows and doors are draped with silk portieres and blended in the same dark green scheme.
Inside the auditorium contains a symmetrical slope of the seating arrangement. There are nine seats in a row and the rows are 26 deep, with all seats being dipped in mahogany. The two aisles on either side are carpeted with green velvet with the floor in the seating block of cork carpet. The overhead lighting system contains one large and three smaller inverted arcs which cast a soft glow. Also on the side walls contains concealed fixtures. The stage and screen resembles good view although I cannot find the measurement of both of those ingredients. The projectors in the booth were shipped from New York to Lafayette at the then-cost of $400, and the 14-piece orchestra costed the entirety of $3,000, which contains the following instruments: Piano, organ, violin, trombone, flute, base drum, snare drum, orchestra chimes, xylophone, marembaphone, symbols, autohorn, thundersheet, and a tom-tom.