American Theater - St. Louis, Missouri
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 38° 37.804 W 090° 11.580
15S E 744345 N 4279464
The American Theater now known as The Roberts Orpheum Theater is an historic theater located in downtown St. Louis.
Waymark Code: WMKFG
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 08/08/2006
Views: 11
The theater was built in 1917 by St. Louis self-made millionaire Louis A. Cella. The building originally was called The Orpheum and was designed by architect Albert Lansburgh. Lansburgh had designed seven previous theaters for the Orpheum franchise. Artist Leo Lentelli was responsible for the ornate sculptures, many of which are still present today. Lentelli has also done sculptures for the Rockefeller Center.
When the theater opened it joined two dozen theaters in the national "Orpheum vaudeville circuit". When vaudeville dimished in the 1930s the theater became a movie theater for Warner Brothers and then Loews. In the 1960's it was opened again as a live preformance venue under the name "The American Theater". By the early 1980s it became a venue mostly for private events and occasional concert. Starting in 2003 the theater was renovated and now is host a wide variety of events including concerts, theater, dance, lectures, and movies, as well as corporate events, conferences, and private parties. The name was changed back the Orpheum - The Roberts Orpheum Theater
