Saenger Theater - Biloxi, Mississippi
Posted by: 
Sunny Gina
N 30° 23.844 W 088° 53.403
16R E 318423 N 3364337
The Saenger Theater was once the the place to go for talkies, traveling shows, and vaudeville performances, and is now used for dance troupes, theater and orchestra performances.
Waymark Code: WM2CZP
Location: Mississippi, United States
Date Posted: 10/14/2007
Views: 38
Taken from www.cinematreasures.org : The Saenger Biloxi opened on January 15, 1929 and was touted as the Pearl of the Gulf South. The theater was owned by Julian and A.D. Saenger of New Orleans and was designed by Roy A. Benjamin and built by Arthur Perry.
With seating for 1245 people, the theater's acoustics were built so that, as the local paper reported, even a whisper on stage could be heard by all. The theater also featured 3 levels of dressing rooms, which were accessed by the use of a spiral staircase, and a backstage electric control panel that could control every light in the theater.
The first movie to be shown in the Saenger was Interference, produced by Paramount and billed as a 100% all-talking picture and stared Clive Brooks, Evelyn Bront, William Powell, and Doris Kenyon.
The theater has been converted to theater house in 1975 after being deeded to the city of Biloxi, and is now a home to the Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra and local theater companies and dance troupes. The theater averages about 70 productions a year, attracting more than 40,000 audience members.
In 1984, the Biloxi Saenger was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Saenger Theater has been under restoration since 1995, and on Nov. 25, 2007, the public will get its first chance to see the latest renovation efforts – a $1.25 million overhaul of the theater’s main auditorium, where new seating and new carpeting have been installed, and the walls and ceiling have been restored to the luster of opening day in 1929.
Street address:
416 Reynoir St.
Biloxi, MS USA
39532
County / Borough / Parish: Harrison
Year listed: 1984
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering
Periods of significance: 1925-1949
Historic function: Recreation And Culture. Biloxi's the place to go for talkies, traveling shows, and vaudeville performances.
Current function: Currently used for dance troupes, theater and orchestra performances.
Privately owned?: no
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Hours of operation: Not listed
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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