Saenger Theatre
1209 Walnut Street,
Vicksburg,
MS
39183
1209 Walnut Street,
Vicksburg,
MS
39183
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Saenger Amusement Company
Architects: Charles G. Davis
Previous Names: Walnut Street Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Walnut Street Theatre was opened by 1899. It was renamed Saenger Theatre in 1922. in 1922. It reopened as the New Saenger Theatre on August 19, 1927 with Lois Moran in “The Whirlwind of Youth”. It had been equipped with a Robert Morton 2 manual 8 ranks organ which was opened by organist Maimo Yerger. It was destroyed by a tornado on December 6, 1953.
Contributed by
Bryan
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
The Saenger was originally known as The Walnut. The organ
was a 2 manual 8 rank Robert Morton. The organist was
Maimo Minter.
The Saenger is on the right in this 1936 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/5mktyj
Same picture as above.. larger format..
http://www.shorpy.com/node/6026?size=_original
I’ve been trying to follow the lead from abarry33’s earlier comment saying that the Saneger Theatre was once called the Walnut Theatre. I’ve come across a Walnut Street Theatre on a list of historic buildings in Vicksburg, and it was listed at 1207 Walnut Street. This house was listed int he 1899-1900 Cahn guide as a 1,200-seat, ground floor theater. In two later editions of the guide it was listed with a capacity of 1,400.
There is a photo of the Walnut Street Theatre on this page of the April, 1907, issue of The Theatre. The building’s facade appears to be about the same size and shape as the Saenger, but it has lots of windows. I’ve found only one source stating specifically that the Walnut Street Theatre was renamed the Saenger, in a July 25, 2010, feature article in The Vicksburg Post, in which 96 year old Evelyn White recalls being in a play at the Walnut Street Theatre before it was renamed.
I think that the Saenger Theatre probably was the Walnut Street Theatre, with either a remodeled front or with more extensive reconstruction, but I’m unable to account for the drastic reduction in seating capacity between the 1900s and 1950.
The Saenger was destroyed by one of the most deadliest tornadoes in Mississippi, which is Vicksburg’s violent F5 tornado on December 6, 1953. The tornado killed 38 people and injuring 270 others.
The Saenger theatre opened on August 19th, 1927. Grand opening ad: