Saenger Theatre
A 1927 atmospheric picture palace on Canal Street, rebuilt after Katrina for touring shows.
The Saenger opened on 4 February 1927 as the flagship of the Saenger brothers' southern cinema chain, designed by the New Orleans architect Emile Weil. Its auditorium is atmospheric in the manner of the period, dressed as an Italian Renaissance courtyard with balustrades, statuary and Corinthian columns beneath a ceiling of drifting clouds and small electric stars. It opened with about 4,000 seats and a Robert Morton pipe organ of roughly 2,000 pipes, installed for accompanying silent films.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 and converted to a performing-arts house, but flooding after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 put it out of use for eight years. A restoration costing around $53 million returned it to service in September 2013, with the seating count now near 2,600. Programmed by ATG Entertainment, it is the city's main house for touring Broadway productions, concerts, comedy and occasional classic film screenings.
Highlights
- Atmospheric auditorium as an Italian Renaissance courtyard under a starry ceiling
- Robert Morton theatre organ of about 2,000 pipes, installed in 1927
- Flooded after Hurricane Katrina and restored at a cost of some $53 million
- New Orleans' principal house for touring Broadway productions
