![]() Entrance of the Saenger Theatre.
|
|
Address | 6 South Joachim Street Mobile, Alabama United States |
---|---|
Coordinates | 30°41′26″N 88°02′39″W / 30.690631°N 88.044044°W |
Owner | Center for the Living Arts, Inc. |
Type | Indoor Theatre |
Capacity | 1,921 |
Current use |
Performing arts center |
Saenger Theatre
|
|
Architectural style | 20th Century Revival |
Part of | Lower Dauphin Street Historic District (#79000392) |
Designated CP | 19 February 1979 |
Construction | |
Opened | 19 January 1927 |
Architect | Emile Weil |
Website | |
www.mobilesaenger.com |
Performing arts center
The Saenger Theatre is a historic theater and contributing building to the Lower Dauphin Street Historic District in Mobile, Alabama. It was dedicated in January 1927 and has witnessed thousands of performers, acts, ballets and musicals throughout its history. The Saenger Theatre is a Mobile landmark, known for its architecture and ties to local cultural history. The theater has been completely renovated in recent years and now boasts an upgraded electrical system, VIP facilities, new stage rigging and a state-of-the-art sound system. It is the official home of the Mobile Symphony Orchestra and also serves as the venue for movie festivals, concerts, lectures and special events.
When The Saenger opened on January 19, 1927, it was the sixty-first Saenger theatre of a chain founded by the Saenger brothers, Julian and Abel of New Orleans. The Saengers were pharmacists when they purchased their first theater in Shreveport in 1911. They eventually owned 320 theaters located throughout the South, Costa Rica, Cuba, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama and Puerto Rico.
The Saenger Theatre in Mobile took a year to construct at a cost of about 500,000 dollars. Designed by renowned architect, Emile Weil, the Saenger featured the following: three-color auditorium lighting, a two-manual, ten-rank Robert Morton theater organ, full stage facilities to accommodate large road shows including stage and wardrobe traps, four floors of dressing rooms, musicians' and chorus rooms and 2,615 seats. Around 1950, the seats on the floor were replaced and respaced, reducing the seating capacity to about 2,200. Seating capacity today is 1,921.