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Architect's interior design for the New Orleans Saenger
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Click the pictures for a closer look |
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Canal Street entrance under construction, about 1925.
The sign above the entrance indicates that the theatre
would open in fall of 1925, but that wouldn't occur until
1927. Only the facade & arcade are in progress here,
work has not yet begun on the auditorium. The buildings
in the next block can be seen through the entrance. In
the entrance is a sign advertising the run of Elinor Glyn's
"Three Weeks" with Aileen Pringle & Conrad
Nagel at Saenger's Strand in New Orleans.
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An invitation-only dedication program was
presented the evening before opening to the general public.
You'll need a white tie.
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Arcade of the New Orleans Saenger Theatre.
The New
Orleans Times Picayune's article of the opening of the
New Orleans Saenger states that the great chandeliers of
the arcade ( 4 or 5) came from the Chateau Pierrefronds d'Oise.
Only one of the chandeliers remains; the others were in a
later year sold to finance a restoration effort. One now
hangs in the Stanford Court Hotel in San Francisco.
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Auditorium, house left.
Vintage picture, probably
before opening: ladders can be seen on the upper wall.
Notice greenery near statuary, awnings over organ grille
(this didn't last long). Also visible on the upper wall:
a stuffed peacock & an as-yet unarranged tapestry.
The Solo Stage is located beneath the organ grille.
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Auditorium, house right.
An early photograph,
probably from the first year of the theatre's operation.
The hard seat backs in the balcony were changed fairly
early, & seating was reduced from 4000 to 3600.
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Orchestra.
The organ & pit are on separate
lifts. There are 30 pieces in the pit, with a grand piano,
harp, tympani, conductor, two organists, the four manual
Robert Morton theatre organ, & still plenty of room
for knees & elbows.
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The Solo Stage.
Knabe may have been the exclusive
piano for the Saenger Theatres; a Knabe grand is shown in
its place on the Solo Stage, & a white 9' Knabe
Concert Grand was originally placed onstage.
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Ladies' powder room.
Among the details can be seen
the original carpet: the carpet in the Saenger theatres
had the company's "Saenger" logo woven into the
pattern.
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Mezzanine.
These photographs are from
1940 or later, the year when the original carpet was
replaced with the "Paramount Swirl" patterned
carpet seen here.
A gas jet can be seen on the wall in the center
photograph. Even though the theatres were "all-electric",
gas jets were still installed in the house until about
1928 in the Saenger theatres.
The stairway in the bottom photograph leads from the
mezzanine to the lobby.
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Full house at the Saenger Theatre in New Orleans.
This is a view of about 1/4 of the theatre: visible is the right
half of the balcony and underbalcony floor seats. Unseen are not only the left
side, but all the floor seats in the front half of the theatre.
The occasion is a benefit in 1965 for the victims of Hurricane
Betsy. A benefit was held at each of the Saenger theatres for the victims of the
enormous, devastating storm.
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More about the New Orleans Saenger Theatre
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The Robert Morton theatre organ
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Photographs & information
generously provided by Dr. Barry Henry of New Orleans |
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Copyright © 1999 - 2009, William Hooper.
Other information:
- Saenger Theatre,
magnificent photography by Noah Kern from his website
America's Stunning Theatres
- Saenger
Performing Arts Center, at New Orleans Online
- Saenger
Theatre and Civic Light Opera, with photo, Louisiana
Department of Culture, Recreation, & Tourism
- Mother
Morton Rises Again, photos & details of the most
recent restoration of the New Orleans Saenger theatre
organ, from the Magnolia
Chapter of the ATOS
- Organs
and Organists at the Saenger Theatre, an interview with New Orleans
movie theatre icon Rene Brunet, from the
New Orleans Oral History
Project
- Description
of the New Orleans Saenger Theatre, from its
nomination to the National Register of Historic Places
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