The beautiful Saxes Orpheum Theater was once one of the gems of downtown
It was built in 1912 on the site where the Schlitz Cafe once stood
There was also a lot that was used for sideshows
The theater was brightly lit at night
The Orpheum Theater was located on the northeast corner of 5th & Edmond
Photo #7 is a November 1, 1930 St Joseph News Press advertisement telling about the Orpheum being
totally remodeled with new screens, sound, seating etc.
In photo #1, the original Townsend, Wyatt and Wall department store at 5th & Felix can be seen in the background
On January 23, 1933 a $35,000 fire severely damaged the theater along with
St Joseph Shoe Repair, 505 Edmond, which also shared the structure. The fire was believed to have been vandalism by disgruntled employees
After the January fire, the theater was rebuilt and reopened in October 1933
The new theater was not as extravagant as the original theater
Mac's Jewelry Shop was located adjacent to the theater
On April 4, 1958, the theater was sold to the Mechanics Bank
On May 15, 1958, it was announced that the theater would be razed
The building is now gone and is currently a parking lot
I only went there a couple times as a child in the 1950's before the razing
It smelled very badly of stale cigar & cigarette smoke
Back then, people were allowed to smoke in the theaters
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