Projects:
Orpheum Theatre
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Orpheum premiered on January 5, 1929; a showcase for vaudeville,
burlesque, touring shows, and movies. Built by local theater owners
Harry Nace and J.E. Richards at a cost of $750,000, Phoenix’s
Orpheum was reputed to be the most luxurious movie palace west
of the Mississippi. The Orpheum’s designers, Lescher and Mahoney
and Hugh Gilbert, were influenced by movie palace designer John
Eberson. Known for his “atmospheric” designs, Eberson’s movie
palaces were fanciful edifices decorated with outdoor motifs (murals
and domed ceilings with drifting clouds and twinkling stars) designed
to create the illusion that movie goers were enjoying a romantic
evening “al fresco.”
The day of its premiere,
The Arizona Republican’s headline proclaimed: “Orpheum Theatre
Opening Marks Epoch in City History.” But the era of the movie
palace did not last forever. The depression, the exodus of families
from downtown to the suburbs and television contributed to the
decline of the movie palace. In 1949, the Orpheum was sold and
renamed the Paramount, but still was used as a movie house.
In 1968, it changed hands and names again when James Nederlander
of New York City called it the Palace West and put on musical
comedies and plays there. In 1977, the theatre was leased to
the Coronal family for Spanish-language films.
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Then-Mayor Terry Goddard
and the city council had Phoenix acquire the theatre in 1984. During
the next year, the theatre was placed on the National Register of
Historic Places. The Junior League initiated the Orpheum Theatre Foundation,
and in 1988 voters allocated funds for the renovation. In 1989, the
city brought in van Dijk, Pace, Westlake Architects, the architectural
firm responsible for the restorations of Cleveland’s Playhouse Square
Theatre and Indianapolis’ Circle Theatre, as well as other performing
arts facilities.
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The
Orpheum Theatre opened on January 28, 1997. Described as “the
new reigning star of the downtown arts scene”, the Orpheum has
been restored to its original splendor and transformed to a
major performing arts center with a new stage, lobby and audio
and theatrical systems.
This project was executed in four phases over eight years: new
stage house and rehearsal facility and tie-ins to the new Phoenix
City Hall which surrounds the theater; exterior restoration;
interior development; offices, dressing rooms and performance
systems and a theater organ to create a fully functioning theater.
Location:
Phoenix, AZ
Original Architect: Lescher and Mahoney
Original Completion Date: 1929
Project Cost: $7,344,000
Completion Date: 1996 (multiple phases and construction
packages)
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