Ogden's Historic Orpheum Theatre Faces Demolition to Make Way for Parking Lot
By Cathy Free, Tribune Staff Writer
Salt Lake Tribune, 4 September 1983, page B1
Salt Lake Tribune, 4 September 1983, page B1
OGDEN - In the 1890s, women would don elegant ball gowns and jeweled tiaras and walk arm-in-arm with their well-dressed husbands under the stone arch entrance of Ogden's Grand Opera House.
Nodding politely to friends and acquaintances, couples would fan themselves with playbills and sit in seats covered with plush blue velvet, while waiting for the night's performance to begin.
Operas, melodramas, comedies and vaudeville shows of all types entertained theater lovers from all over the country for years at the opera house, now known as the Orpheum Theater, the oldest theater in Utah still standing.
For over 90 years, the theater on Washington Boulevard accommodated everyone from traveling vaudeville troupes and famous actors and actresses to children who would rather throw popcorn than eat it at Saturday movie matinees.
But in a few weeks, all that will be left of the famous Orpheum Theater are memories and a few photographs treasured by old-timers who remember the theater in its heyday. The old movie and play house will be torn down so a parking lot can be built for the Ben Lomond Hotel, another landmark in Ogden that is being renovated.
Nobody really wants the Orpheum to be demolished, but Daniel W. Cook, president of Dan Cook & Associates, the company that is renovating the Ben Lomond Hotel, says he doesn't have any other choice. Mr. Cook owns the option on the Orpheum Theater. He said he had originally planned to renovate the Orpheum along with the hotel. Mr. Cook has applied for affiliation with the Sheraton Hotel for the Ben Lomond Tower and will house Weber County offices, along with hotel rooms.
Mr. Cook said he thought the Orpheum could be used once again for plays and symphonies or become a convention center for the adjoining hotel, but because of problems finding land for parking for the Ben Lomond, he had to change his plans. The Orpheum was closed last year - it was a movie theater for many years after its live performance period. The theater was never put on national or local historical registers, although at one time, it was nominated. Mr. Cook thought if the Orpheum was put on the register, it might restrict his development of the Ben Lomond Hotel.
"We just don't have any other land available for parking," Mr. Cook said. "I have no choice but to tear the theater down."
He said the timing was wrong to work out a mutual parking facility with the Boyer Co., which owns the option on the land next to the Orpheum Theatre. The Boyer Co. wants to build a state office building at about 2545 Washington Blvd. A $1.2 million Urban Development Action Grant applied for by Ogden city included a combination of the Orpheum and the proposed state office complex.
Ogden Mayor Stephen Dirks said the Boyer Co. is willing to share parking facilities with the Ben Lomond if the State Building Board approves their plans for the state office building.
"I can't see a need at this point to tear the Orpheum down," said the mayor. "It will just be a matter of weeks before the building board makes a decision about the office building. The offer of shared parking facilities with the Ben Lomond still stands."
Those who want the Orpheum preserved are appalled that cars may soon be parking where the Marx Brothers once performed. The Orpheum Theatre was named after the Orpheum Touring Circuit, a troupe of traveling actors and actresses. Nearly every famous vaudeville actor and actress performed at the Orpheum until the 1940s, when movies started taking away the audience of stage plays.
The Marx Brothers, Jenny Lind, Lillian Russell, Maud Adams, and Burns and Allen are only a few performers that appeared on the theater's stage. The busy Union Railroad Station was just down the street from the theater, providing easy access for people from all over the country to see the plays while staying in Ogden.
The Orpheum was built in 1890 and was funded by three of Ogden's leading citizens, who were embarrassed that the railroad hub of the Rockies didn't have a decent playhouse. So they decided to build the "finest theater in the West."
On opening night, patrons pulled up in their carriages and were awed by the beauty of the theatrical temple. The theater was made of white pressed brick and the general architecture of the building was Romanesque. There were terraces on each story, connected at the top by a Turkish minaret.
According to information provided by Ogden's Union Station the decor of the theater lobby had mosiac tiling, richly frescoed walls and heavy oak doors with beautiful plate glass. The box office was octagonal in shape, covered with carved ornaments, and set with choice jewels and stained glass with mirror panels.
The foyer of the theatre had grand oak staircases, and each stair had a niche with a bronzed statue that held a lighted torch. The auditorium and balcony seated 1,600 people and box seats were adorned with hundreds of sparkling jewels. The drop curtain was painted with a view of the Orient from the interior of a mosque.
Emma Abbot was the first performer to grace the theater's stage. One week later, the prima donna of the world's stage died, and for years, Ogden residents talked about her performance.
The Grand Opera House attracted some of the top touring companies in the nation, including groups that regularly performed at the Madison Square Theatre in New York, and the Baldwin Theatre in San Fransico.
One of the most exciting plays presented at the theater had a ship wreck scene and dozens of explosions. The ship took up the entire stage and the audience thought they were witnessing a bonafide ship wreck, according to Union Station historians.
Today, the average citizen who walks past the Orpheum probably doesn't know much about the theater's famous past. On the outside, the building looks run down and needs repair. The minaret was demolished many years ago, and the theater's vaudeville sign has been replaced by a modern marquee. An abandoned apartment building is located on top of the theater, ready for the wrecking ball.
But the theater itself could be renovated. "It's a dreadful shame that it is going to be destroyed to make room for another parking lot," said Dr. Sherwin Howard, Dean of Arts and Humanities, Weber State College. The Weber State drama department has put on several plays in the theater.
"It could be a beautiful, functional theater and would be a wonderful service to the community, if renovated," said Dr. Howard. "I'm sure there are alternatives to tearing it down that would be more feasible. I hope the parties involved who can make decisions to save it, do so."
Society is not making progress when historic buildings are torn down for parking spaces, he added. "We need theaters more than parking," he said. "The Orpheum is not only functional, it is a beautiful, simple theater. And it is a historic landmark besides."
"It is disappointing that Ogden can't keep the theater," said Diana Ellis, head of the Orpheum Foundation. "There is only one other theater like it in the country - in Delaware. That theater was restored. It would be wonderful if the Orpheum could be used in conjuction with the Ben Lomond Hotel."
The Ben Lomond Hotel would be destined to the same fate as the Orpheum if Weber County Commissioner Roger Rawson hadn't stepped in to save it when he was elected last fall. The county owned the building at the time and several county offices were located in the hotel. The upper floors of the hotel were vacant. The county needed more money, so the commission had decided to sell the hotel. When Mr. Rawson was elected, he toured the hotel, determined if was of value, and talked the commission into selling the building to a developer who would renovate it.
"They were going to sell it to someone for $200,000 to tear it down," he said. "The building will be worth $6 million when renovated." The hotel renovation will include 14 hotel family suites, several single rooms, restaurants, and a glass elevator leading to a private club. The ballroom on the hotel's mezzanine will be completely restored to its original decor.
Mr. Rawson said he doesn't know whether anything can be worked out to save the Orpheum from becoming a parking lot for the hotel, but "if there is a solution that will enable the hotel to have parking, plus save the Orpheum, it should be looked at."
If there is a solution, officials don't have much time to pursue it. Mr. Cook plans to have the Orpheum demolished at the end of September. The final chapter in the life of the Orpheum Theatre is being written, but nobody knows yet whether it will have a happy ending.
Nodding politely to friends and acquaintances, couples would fan themselves with playbills and sit in seats covered with plush blue velvet, while waiting for the night's performance to begin.
Operas, melodramas, comedies and vaudeville shows of all types entertained theater lovers from all over the country for years at the opera house, now known as the Orpheum Theater, the oldest theater in Utah still standing.
For over 90 years, the theater on Washington Boulevard accommodated everyone from traveling vaudeville troupes and famous actors and actresses to children who would rather throw popcorn than eat it at Saturday movie matinees.
Due to Be Razed
But in a few weeks, all that will be left of the famous Orpheum Theater are memories and a few photographs treasured by old-timers who remember the theater in its heyday. The old movie and play house will be torn down so a parking lot can be built for the Ben Lomond Hotel, another landmark in Ogden that is being renovated.
Nobody really wants the Orpheum to be demolished, but Daniel W. Cook, president of Dan Cook & Associates, the company that is renovating the Ben Lomond Hotel, says he doesn't have any other choice. Mr. Cook owns the option on the Orpheum Theater. He said he had originally planned to renovate the Orpheum along with the hotel. Mr. Cook has applied for affiliation with the Sheraton Hotel for the Ben Lomond Tower and will house Weber County offices, along with hotel rooms.
Mr. Cook said he thought the Orpheum could be used once again for plays and symphonies or become a convention center for the adjoining hotel, but because of problems finding land for parking for the Ben Lomond, he had to change his plans. The Orpheum was closed last year - it was a movie theater for many years after its live performance period. The theater was never put on national or local historical registers, although at one time, it was nominated. Mr. Cook thought if the Orpheum was put on the register, it might restrict his development of the Ben Lomond Hotel.
"We just don't have any other land available for parking," Mr. Cook said. "I have no choice but to tear the theater down."
He said the timing was wrong to work out a mutual parking facility with the Boyer Co., which owns the option on the land next to the Orpheum Theatre. The Boyer Co. wants to build a state office building at about 2545 Washington Blvd. A $1.2 million Urban Development Action Grant applied for by Ogden city included a combination of the Orpheum and the proposed state office complex.
Ogden Mayor Stephen Dirks said the Boyer Co. is willing to share parking facilities with the Ben Lomond if the State Building Board approves their plans for the state office building.
"I can't see a need at this point to tear the Orpheum down," said the mayor. "It will just be a matter of weeks before the building board makes a decision about the office building. The offer of shared parking facilities with the Ben Lomond still stands."
Many Appalled
Those who want the Orpheum preserved are appalled that cars may soon be parking where the Marx Brothers once performed. The Orpheum Theatre was named after the Orpheum Touring Circuit, a troupe of traveling actors and actresses. Nearly every famous vaudeville actor and actress performed at the Orpheum until the 1940s, when movies started taking away the audience of stage plays.
The Marx Brothers, Jenny Lind, Lillian Russell, Maud Adams, and Burns and Allen are only a few performers that appeared on the theater's stage. The busy Union Railroad Station was just down the street from the theater, providing easy access for people from all over the country to see the plays while staying in Ogden.
The Orpheum was built in 1890 and was funded by three of Ogden's leading citizens, who were embarrassed that the railroad hub of the Rockies didn't have a decent playhouse. So they decided to build the "finest theater in the West."
Romanesque Architecture
On opening night, patrons pulled up in their carriages and were awed by the beauty of the theatrical temple. The theater was made of white pressed brick and the general architecture of the building was Romanesque. There were terraces on each story, connected at the top by a Turkish minaret.
According to information provided by Ogden's Union Station the decor of the theater lobby had mosiac tiling, richly frescoed walls and heavy oak doors with beautiful plate glass. The box office was octagonal in shape, covered with carved ornaments, and set with choice jewels and stained glass with mirror panels.
The foyer of the theatre had grand oak staircases, and each stair had a niche with a bronzed statue that held a lighted torch. The auditorium and balcony seated 1,600 people and box seats were adorned with hundreds of sparkling jewels. The drop curtain was painted with a view of the Orient from the interior of a mosque.
Emma Abbot Performance
Emma Abbot was the first performer to grace the theater's stage. One week later, the prima donna of the world's stage died, and for years, Ogden residents talked about her performance.
The Grand Opera House attracted some of the top touring companies in the nation, including groups that regularly performed at the Madison Square Theatre in New York, and the Baldwin Theatre in San Fransico.
One of the most exciting plays presented at the theater had a ship wreck scene and dozens of explosions. The ship took up the entire stage and the audience thought they were witnessing a bonafide ship wreck, according to Union Station historians.
Today, the average citizen who walks past the Orpheum probably doesn't know much about the theater's famous past. On the outside, the building looks run down and needs repair. The minaret was demolished many years ago, and the theater's vaudeville sign has been replaced by a modern marquee. An abandoned apartment building is located on top of the theater, ready for the wrecking ball.
'A Dreadful Shame'
But the theater itself could be renovated. "It's a dreadful shame that it is going to be destroyed to make room for another parking lot," said Dr. Sherwin Howard, Dean of Arts and Humanities, Weber State College. The Weber State drama department has put on several plays in the theater.
"It could be a beautiful, functional theater and would be a wonderful service to the community, if renovated," said Dr. Howard. "I'm sure there are alternatives to tearing it down that would be more feasible. I hope the parties involved who can make decisions to save it, do so."
Society is not making progress when historic buildings are torn down for parking spaces, he added. "We need theaters more than parking," he said. "The Orpheum is not only functional, it is a beautiful, simple theater. And it is a historic landmark besides."
"It is disappointing that Ogden can't keep the theater," said Diana Ellis, head of the Orpheum Foundation. "There is only one other theater like it in the country - in Delaware. That theater was restored. It would be wonderful if the Orpheum could be used in conjuction with the Ben Lomond Hotel."
Commissioner Rawson
The Ben Lomond Hotel would be destined to the same fate as the Orpheum if Weber County Commissioner Roger Rawson hadn't stepped in to save it when he was elected last fall. The county owned the building at the time and several county offices were located in the hotel. The upper floors of the hotel were vacant. The county needed more money, so the commission had decided to sell the hotel. When Mr. Rawson was elected, he toured the hotel, determined if was of value, and talked the commission into selling the building to a developer who would renovate it.
"They were going to sell it to someone for $200,000 to tear it down," he said. "The building will be worth $6 million when renovated." The hotel renovation will include 14 hotel family suites, several single rooms, restaurants, and a glass elevator leading to a private club. The ballroom on the hotel's mezzanine will be completely restored to its original decor.
Mr. Rawson said he doesn't know whether anything can be worked out to save the Orpheum from becoming a parking lot for the hotel, but "if there is a solution that will enable the hotel to have parking, plus save the Orpheum, it should be looked at."
If there is a solution, officials don't have much time to pursue it. Mr. Cook plans to have the Orpheum demolished at the end of September. The final chapter in the life of the Orpheum Theatre is being written, but nobody knows yet whether it will have a happy ending.