Orpheum Theatre (Omaha)
The Orpheum Theater is located at 409 South 16th Street in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. The Orpheum hosts programs best served by a more theatrical setting, including the Omaha Performing Arts Broadway Season, presented with Broadway Across America, and Opera Omaha's season. The theatre is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
![]() The former steel-letter marquee at Omaha's Orpheum Theater was replaced by a digital marquee in 2013 | |
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Address | 409 S 16th St. Omaha, Nebraska United States |
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Owner | Omaha Performing Arts |
Capacity | 2,600 |
Screens | 1 |
Current use | Performing arts center |
Opened | 1927 |
Website | |
omahaperformingarts.org | |
Orpheum Theater | |
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Coordinates | 41°15′22.74″N 95°56′10.3″W |
Built | 1895, 1927 Current Orpheum Theater |
Architect | Holabird & Roche; Lawrie, Harry |
Architectural style | Italianate |
MPS | Opera House Buildings in Nebraska 1867-1917 MPS (AD) |
NRHP reference No. | 73001061[1] |
Added to NRHP | March 26, 1973 |
History
The current site of the Omaha Orpheum Theater was previously home to the Creighton Theater.[2] John A. McShane organized a stock company to build the original theater in 1895.[2] The architects for the original theater were Fisher & Lawrie and the general contractors were Rocheford & Gould.[2] Paxton and Vierling installed the iron curtain that weighed 11 tons.[2] The theater was named after John A. Creighton, a local philanthropist, and a large portrait of Count Creighton decorated the proscenium arch.[2] The Creighton Theater was eventually added to the Orpheum Circuit, which by 1900 had expanded to nine western cities: Omaha, Chicago, Kansas City, New Orleans, Denver, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento.[2] The reference to Creighton was eventually dropped from the theater's name.
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By 1926 a new, larger theater was in the works.[2] The current 2,600-seat proscenium theater was built in 1927 on the same site as the original Creighton Theater,[2] but with its entrance situated on 16th Street.
When vaudeville acts were no longer in fashion, a screen was added and the theater operated as a downtown movie theater from the 1940s through 1975, when it received a $2 million renovation and became a performing arts venue once again.[3]
In 2002, Omaha Performing Arts assumed management of the Orpheum Theater from the City of Omaha, and the Orpheum underwent a $10 million renovation, making it capable of accommodating larger and more complicated scenery and sets.[4]
The Orpheum Theater Skylink was added in 2004 for increased convenience and accessibility to the Orpheum. The 200-foot-long elevated, enclosed and climate-controlled walkway connects the OPPD parking garage to the Orpheum Theater.
In October 2013, the steel-letter marquee that was installed with the 1975 renovation was replaced with a digital electronic display board.[5] The signage upgrades also included the installation of LED posters in the theater's lobby.[5]
During the summer of 2017, the theatre received a $3 million update, including paint, new carpeting and a refresh of seating.[6]
The theater has a theatre organ, made by Wurlitzer.
The Orpheum Theater continues to be one of Omaha's most popular performing arts venues.
See also
- History of Omaha
- List of theaters in Omaha, Nebraska
- City National Bank Building (Omaha)
- Theatre in Omaha
- Culture in Omaha, Nebraska
References
- "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- "Orpheum Theater". The Omaha World-Herald Newspaper. Omaha, Douglas County, NE, USA. March 28, 1974.
- "Orpheum Theater". CinemaTreasures.org. Retrieved Sept 28, 2010.
- "Omaha's Orpheum Theater". Retrieved 2 February 2013.
- Fischbach, Bob (October 10, 2013). "Orpheum Theater Marquee: Metal letters out; pictures, colors, motion in". The Omaha World-Herald Newspaper, Omaha, Douglas County, NE, USA.
- Betsie Freeman (October 22, 2017). "90 years, countless memories for Orpheum" (Living, Section E). Omaha, Douglas County, NE, USA: The Omaha World-Herald Newpspaper. p. 1. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
External links
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