Orpheum Theatre (New Bedford, Massachusetts)

The building, designed by Louis E. Destremps, was constructed by the French Sharpshooter's Club of New Bedford to house both a ballroom and armed shooting range. It opened on April 15, 1912 (the same day the Titanic sank).[1]

The Sharpshooters Club leased the theatre to the Orpheum Circuit of Boston, which brought a series of vaudeville and variety performers to New Bedford. By the 1920s the theatre showed motion pictures, as well.[1]

This Orpheum theatre is believed to be the second oldest in the nation (it was built a year after the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles).[2]

When the theatre opened, it seated 1,500 people. The theatre closed in 1958–59, and was only opened for special events. The sharpshooters club sold it in 1962, and it was used as storage by a tobacco company. The back of the theatre currently houses a supermarket, but the rest of the space is still empty. The building is currently privately owned.[3]

There are plans by Orph Inc, a non-profit company, to bring back the theatre and revitalize New Bedford economy. Their mission statement says they are out to "create and operate a multi-cultural arts facility, to promote arts, culture, diversity and education, to hold, organize and promote events for public participation; to manage the theater to the benefit of its stated purpose, and to do any and all acts permitted by a corporation organized under Chapter 180 of the General Laws of Massachusetts, 2004".[4][5]

• Orph Inc.
• Pics of theatre