Picto Theatre

630 Canal Street was home to the Picto Theatre, operated by Herman Fichtenberg, a 1910s-era silent movie house in the crowded New Orleans movie marketplace of the Central Business District. The location had previously housed Fichtenberg’s Penny Wonderland in 1903. Today, however, 630 Canal is far better known as Rubenstein’s, the longtime men’s clothing retailer that occupied the building for more than a century. Yet 630 Canal was designed neither as a movie house nor as a clothing store. The building was originally constructed in 1900 for S.W. Clark & Sons Grocers.

The Clarks — Sheldon W., Henry H., and Sheldon W. Clark Jr. — created their grocery business to challenge the prominent 35-year-old establishment of J.B. Solari in the fall of 1898. Solari’s was a curated theatre of global foods all under one roof. This was unlike the French-inspired, open-air Dryades Market about a mile away, where locally sourced goods could be found, Solari’s displayed Russian caviar, Spanish olives, Italian cheeses, and imported fresh fruits from around the world. The four-story market on Royal Street, designed by Thomas Sully, was organized into immersive and impressive departments.

Entering the grocery business at the end of the Gilded Age, the Clarks quickly found success with their two-store gourmet food store concept. In little more than a year, they expanded by combining 624, 626, 628, and a newly constructed 630 Canal Street into a single steel-reinforced “super” store for S.W. Clark & Sons — an operation intended to surpass Solari’s in opulence and theatrical food display.

Opening in late summer 1900, S.W. Clark & Sons wowed visitors. Sales were initially strong as New Orleans customers used Gilded Age revolving credit accounts to purchase lavish goods including fine wines, cheeses, and caviar. But the cost of constructing and consolidating 624–630 Canal required repayment - and contractors expected cash rather than ledger-based promises. To generate funds, the Clarks began pressing many of their wealthier customers for payment — some in court - an unpopular move that hurt sales and reduced foot traffic. Lower traffic meant spoiled inventory. With less revenue coming in, suppliers became increasingly reluctant to extend credit to Clark & Sons.

At the same time, “cash-and-carry” grocers offering discounted prices without credit accounts were proving to be the winning business model. Just months after launching their superstore, the Clarks entered a financial death spiral. Their business collapsed, and their personal lives unraveled as well based on legal filings of the day.

What followed was grim. Sheriff’s auctions of fresh foods were held to raise money, followed by dry-goods auctions and eventually fixture sales as the entire operation disappeared within months. There was little chance another single grocer would take over the oversized Clark building. Needing quick revenue, the property was subdivided once again into smaller lease spaces.

Herman Fichtenberg saw opportunity in the situation. He opened Penny Wonderland at 630 Canal on September 3, 1903, creating an arcade-style attraction whose profits were to be found around the novelty of hand-cranked motion pictures. The venture proved enormously popular and soon expanded into larger quarters.

Fichtenberg Enterprises would go on to establish three store-show era nickelodeons, including the Alamo at 1027 Canal Street, Dream World at 632 Canal Street in 1908, and the Picto Theatre here at 630 Canal under the banner of Fichtenberg Amusement Enterprises. Fichtenberg later opened the Plaza Theatre before merging with the competing Saenger Amusement Company under the Saenger name.

Saenger Amusement Company closed the Picto Theatre on July 21, 1918, as the company shifted away from smaller storefront exhibition venues in favor of first-generation movie palaces in New Orleans. By 1924, Rubenstein’s had taken over the location, eventually expanding through the building and establishing what became a century-long retail tradition in men’s clothing.

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