Orpheum Theatre, Adams Street and 2nd Avenue, Phoenix, AZ
Image by w_lemay
Built in 1927-1929, this Spanish Revival-style building was designed by Lescher and Mahoney with Hugh Gilbert for J. E. Rickards and Harry Nace to serve as a theater, part of the national Orpheum circuit. The building became part of the Paramount Theaters chain in 1949, and in 1968, was acquired by the Nederlander Organization, and was known as the Palace West Theatre. Between 1977 and 1986, the theater was operated as a Spanish Language cinema and live performance theater, oriented towards the local Hispanic community. In 1984, the theater was acquired by the City of Phoenix, and the building was rehabilitated to complement the construction of the adjacent Phoenix City Hall in the 1990s, with the theater finally reopening in 1997. As part of the renovation and construction of the adjacent City Hall, the theater’s backstage area was expanded into the adjacent new City Hall building, and a new stage house was constructed to accommodate modern live performance needs. The building is clad in textured stucco with terra cotta trim, decorative sculptural reliefs and friezes, an octagonal corner entrance tower with an open belfry and hipped red terra cotta tile roof, six-over-six and one-over-one double-hung windows, a suspended canopy over the main entrance bay, a balcony with depictions of Spanish Conquistadors on the 2nd Avenue facade, and large bays on the Adams Street facade, which originally contained retail shopfronts, with offices above on the second floor, maximizing the profit generation from the site. The building’s interior features ornate lobbies modeled on Medieval and Renaissance Spanish interiors, with an atmospheric 1,364-seat auditorium space modeled on the courtyard of a Spanish colonial Mission, with murals of Arizona landscapes, faux facades based on Spanish Colonial buildings in the region, and moving clouds that are projected onto the ceiling. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. Today, the building serves as a live performing arts center, which hosts various traveling Broadway shows, concerts, and is the home of the Phoenix Opera and Ballet Arizona.