The Orpheum is a theatre and music venue in Vancouver, British Columbia. Along with the Queen Elizabeth Theatre and the Vancouver Playhouse, it is part of the Vancouver Civic Theatres group of live performance venues. The Orpheum is located at 884 Granville Street near Smithe Street in Vancouver's downtown core.
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History
Designed by Scottish architect Marcus Priteca and constructed over a ten-month period beginning in January 1927, the theatre officially opened as the New Orpheum on November 8 as a vaudeville house, but it hosted its first shows the previous day. The old Orpheum, at 761 Granville Street, was renamed the Vancouver Theatre (later the Lyric, then the International Cinema, then the Lyric once more before it closed for demolition in 1969 to make way for the first phase of the Pacific Centre project). When it opened, it was the biggest theatre in Canada with 3000 seats. The first manager of the theatre was William A. Barnes. Following the end of vaudeville's heyday in the early 1930s, the Orpheum became primarily a movie house under Famous Players ownership, although it would continue to host live events on occasion. Ivan Ackery managed the Orpheum during most of this period, from 1935 (after taking over from previous manager Maynard Joiner) up until his 1969 retirement. On March 19, 1974, the City of Vancouver purchased the Orpheum from Famous Players (which had planned to gut the theatre and convert it to a multiplex, but reconsidered after public protest) and, after it closed in November 1975, undertook a complete restoration of the theatre's interior. The Orpheum re-opened on April 2, 1977 and has since been the permanent home of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Tony Heinsbergen, a U.S. designer who originally chose the color scheme for the interior (ivory, moss green, gold and burgundy) was brought back, fifty years later, for the renovation. He was the one to paint the mural on the ceiling dome. In 1982, plans were made to auction off the Orpheum's famous neon sign (which had fallen into disrepair) above the Granville Street entrance, but local entrepreneur Jim Pattison stepped in and had the sign restored.
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