Orpheum Theater (St. Louis)

American Theater
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
St. Louis Landmark
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Location	416 N. 9th St., St. Louis, Missouri
Coordinates	38°37′48″N 90°11′34″W
Built	1917
Architect	Lansburgh, G. Albert
Architectural style	Beaux Arts
NRHP reference No.	85000617[1]
Added to NRHP	March 18, 1985

The Orpheum Theater in 1917

The Orpheum Theater in St. Louis, Missouri is a Beaux-Arts style theater, built in 1917. It was constructed by local self-made millionaire Louis A. Cella and designed by architect Albert Lansburgh.[2] The $500,000 theater opened on Labor Day 1917 as a vaudeville house.[2] As vaudeville declined, it was sold to Warner Brothers in 1930, and served as a movie theater until it closed in the 1960s.[2]

In the 1970s, the theater was restored and renamed to American Theater [2] and was listed under that name on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.[1] In 1993, the rock band Phish played two concerts at the venue - one in April and the other in August - both of which were released in full on the band's 2017 live album St. Louis '93.[3] The theater was later sold to local businessmen Michael and Steve Roberts, who renamed it the Roberts Orpheum Theater. The Roberts brothers sold the theater in 2012, and it closed.[4] The Chicago developer, UrbanStreet Group, plans to restore the theater.[5]

History

The theater was closed in 2012. However, new owners, Jubilee Group, purchased the building in 2017.[6]

External links

Media related to Roberts Orpheum Theater, St. Louis at Wikimedia Commons

• http://www.orpheum-theater.com/orpheum_theater_st_louis.php

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. "The Roberts Orpheum Theater_ a landmark to St. Louis vaudeville past".
3. "Phish to Release 6-Disc _St. Louis '93_ Live Album - Jambands". Jambands. 7 February 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
4. "New owners to take the stage at Orpheum Theater - St. Louis Business Journal". Archived from the original on 2014-05-21.
5. "Chicago developer hopes to transform vacant Roberts properties".
6. Barker, Jacob (February 19, 2017). "Who Are the New Owners of the Roberts Orpheum Theater Downtown?". St. Louis Post Dispatch (MO).