The Saenger Theatre, also known as the Saenger Theater, is a historic

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. It is located at 118 South Palafox Place. On July 19, 1976, it was added to the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. In 1989, the Saenger Theater was listed in ''A Guide to Florida's Historic Architecture'', published by the University of Florida Press.''A Guide to Florida's Historic Architecture'', 1989, Gainesville: University of Florida Press, p. 7,

History

The theatre, often referred to as the ''Grand Dame of Palafox'' was first built in 1925 and was designed by architect Emile Weil in the style known as

Spanish Baroque architecture Spanish Baroque is a strand of Baroque architecture that evolved in Spain, its provinces, and former colonies. History As Italian Baroque influences penetrated across the Pyrenees, they gradually superseded in popularity the restrained classi ...

. This style was selected due to the extensive Spanish history of the Pensacola area. Mr. Weil is also known for designing theaters in Mobile, Alabama, as well as New Orleans and Shreveport, both of Louisiana. Construction began at 118 South Palafox and opened in 1925. The back of the theater uses bricks from the Pensacola Opera House, which stood at the corner of Jefferson and Government Streets, but was destroyed in the 1916 hurricane. The ornate railing from the third-floor balcony, which was reserved for "ladies of the night" was also relocated from the opera house. The overall cost to build the Saenger was a total of $500,000 and was constructed by C.H. Turner Company, General Contractors. The building not only featured a Robert Morton organ which currently is in reconstruction, but also 2,250 leather-backed seats, extravagant chandeliers and more than eight pounds of silver for its

silver screen A silver screen, also known as a silver lenticular screen, is a type of projection screen that was popular in the early years of the motion picture industry and passed into popular usage as a metonym for the cinema industry. The term silver scree ...

. The Saenger also boasted using "Dr. Mendenhall's new transvertical non-statical projectographic machine" as the projector. Doors to the Saenger opened on April 2, 1925 to "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...

" followed by the "Dance of Old Seville," performed by a local dance class as well as a solo sung by yet another member of the community. The main event, which was Cecil B. DeMille's ''

The Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments ( Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...

,'' was finally shown which completed their sold-out grand opening day. The Saenger was host to a variety of entertainment. In addition to silent motion pictures, and later motion pictures with sound,

Vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

and Broadway shows were frequent favorites. Local entertainers were also invited to perform at the elite Saenger. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the theater stayed opened twenty-four hours a day so that local citizens were able to watch

newsreel A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, inform ...

s at any time of the day, or night. As the years passed, the illustrious theater began to fall out of favor due to competition with drive-ins, as well as other factors, and slowly fell into disrepair. Like so many other palatial movie houses, the Saenger sadly suffered from lack of interest. 1975 brought sadness as the doors to the once magnificent Saenger closed; however, it was not forgotten. The theater was donated to the City of Pensacola who, with the combined efforts of the University of West Florida, worked to restore her to her original majestic structure. In 1981, her first grand re-opening took place alongside a performance by " The Duke Ellington Orchestra," a well renowned jazz ensemble. More recently, the theater underwent another renovation totaling over $15 million, exceeding original estimates by nearly $5 million. The latest renovation was to extend the stage as well as enlarge the dressing rooms. The seating was to become more spacious and comfortable as well. This second grand re-opening took place on March 26, 2009 to "Jesus Christ Superstar." Today the structure remains at its original location on the Northeastern corner of South Palafox Place and East Intendencia Street and continues to provide a variety of entertainment as in its older days.

References

Gallery

Image:Pensacola Saenger Thtr01.jpg, Image:Saengertheatre.jpg, {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Pensacola, Florida National Register of Historic Places in Escambia County, Florida Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida Movie palaces Saenger theatres Emile Weil buildings Tourist attractions in Pensacola, Florida Theatres completed in 1925 Spanish Baroque architecture Public venues with a theatre organ

History

See also

References

External links

Gallery