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Memphis Orpheum Theatre
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the 1928 Opening Souvenir Program
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In 1923, a fire broke out during a vaudeville show and
the old Orpheum Theater burned to the ground. Five
years later, on the foundation of the old theater, a new
Orpheum Theater was built at a then-staggering cost of
$1.5 million. It was twice as large as the old theater,
and much more ornate and luxurious, decorated in the
style of Francois I. Opening on November 19, 1928,
the Memphis Orpheum was beyond anything the builders of
the old opera house could have ever dreamed.
The auditorium, which seated 2500, was decorated in
shades of gold, red and cream, and included a huge
stage, orchestra pit, balcony and domed ceiling.
The grand lobby had twin staircases, enormous crystal
chandeliers and gilded plasterwork. It was,
and is, a masterpiece.
This very rare 1928 Opening Night Souvenir Program is
posted below in its entirety.
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From the
Collection of Dave French ... Click on small photos
below to see a large photo...
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Cover |
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9 1/8" x 12
1/8" |
Title Page |
Joseph P. Kennedy |
Marcus
Heiman |
Keith-Albee-Orpheum |
Frederick
Donaghey |
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Frederick
Donaghey |
The Program |
The New Orpheum |
Orpheum-Memphis |
Palace - Chicago |
State
Lake-Chicago |
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Note to Cinema
Historians:
We also have high resolution scans of all the excellent Keith-Albee-Orpheum
Circuit Theatre photos from this program.
Please contact us if you have the need for any of them. |
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Palace-NYC |
Hypodrome-NYC |
Memorial-Boston |
Albee-Brooklyn |
Riverside-Milwaukee |
St.Louis-St.
Louis |
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Palace-Columbus |
Palace-Cleveland |
Orpheum -
LA |
Hillstreet-LA |
Orpheum-Vancouver |
Orpheum-Seattle |
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Fordham - NYC |
Keith-Portland |
Mainstreet-Kan
City |
Orpheum-Omaha |
National-Louisville |
Orpheum-New
Orleans |
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Orpheum-San Fran |
Golden Gate - San
Fran |
Keith's
Wash DC |
Palace-South Bend |
Orpehum-Oakland |
In
Appreciation |
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In
Appreciation |
In
Appreciation |
In
Appreciation |
In
Appreciation |
In
Appreciation |
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The
Keith-Albee-Orpheum Circuit ... |
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Vaudeville Performers appearing at the New Orpheum's
Inaugural Performance
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Edna Miller |
Homer B. Mason |
Rae Samuels |
Jay
Velie |
Corinne Griffith |
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The Gayle Sisters |
Marguerite Keeler |
Elsa
Newell |
Bill
Newell |
"The
Devil's Circus" |
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Credits |
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The
Historic-Memphis website does not intentionally post copyrighted
photos and material without permission or credit.
On
occasion a "non-credited" photo might possibly be posted because we
were unable to find a name to give credit. Because of the nature of
our non-commercial, non-profit, educational website, we strongly
believe that these photos would be considered "Fair Use. We have
certainly made no monetary gain, although those using this website
for historic or Genealogy research have certainly profited. If by
chance,
we have posted your copyrighted photo, please contact us, and we'll
remove it immediately, or we'll add your credit if that's your
choice. In the past, we have found that many photographers
volunteer to have their works included on these pages and we'll
also do that if you contact us with a photo that fits a particular
page. |
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The "Historic-Memphis" website would like to acknowledge and thank the
following for their contributions which helped make this website
possible:
Memphis
Public Library, Memphis University Library, Memphis Law Library,
Memphis Commercial Appeal, Memphis Press Scimitar, Shelby County
Register of Deeds, Memphis City Schools, Memphis Business Men's
Club, Memphis Chamber of Commerce, Memphis City Park Commission,
Memphis Film Commision, Carnival Memphis, Memphis Historical
Railroad Page, Memphis Heritage Inc, Beale Street Historic District,
Cobblestone Historic District, Memphis Historic Districts, Vance
Lauderdale Family Archives, Tennessee State Archives, Library of
Congress, Kemmons Wilson Family, Richard S. Brashier, Lee Askew,
George Whitworth, Woody Savage and many individuals whose assistance is
acknowledged on the pages of their contributions. Special
thanks to Memphis Realtor, Joe Spake, for giving us carte blanche
access to his outstanding collection of contemporary Memphis photos.
We do not have high definition copies of the photos on these
pages. If anyone wishes to secure high definition photos,
you'll have to contact the photographer or the collector.
(To avoid any possibility of contributing to SPAM, we do not
maintain a file of email addresses for anyone who contacts us). |
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