The NorShor Theater turns 100 this year.
And so I put this question to PDD’s history detectives: What is the exact date the NorShor–then the Orpheum Theatre–first opened its doors?
UPDATE: As Gea reports, the magic date is Aug. 22, 1910.
Here is some general NorShor history:
The Masonic Temple Opera Block–the building connected to the NorShor–opened in 1889. It was designed by Duluth architects Charles McMillan and E. S. Stebbins.
Owner Guilford Hartley had the Orpheum Theatre built at the back of the opera house. It was designed by J.E.O. Pridemore and opened in 1910 as a vaudeville venue. The likes of Mary Pickford, Jack Benny, Charlie Chaplin, the Marx Brothers and W. C. Fields graced its stage.
The Orpheum was redesigned in 1940 into an Art Deco movie theater called the NorShor.
Jacob J. Liebenberg and Seeman Kaplan, theatre architects from Minneapolis, designed the remodel to include the old Orpheum in its construction, with a new entrance on Superior Street. They reversed the layout of the original theater and added a marquee. The 64-foot high tower incorporated 3,000 lights and was said to be visible from 60 miles away.
Cinema Entertainment Corp. closed the NorShor in 1982 and sold it to Duluth physician Eric Ringsred. By 1984, movies and concerts were being promoted by a group called the Northern Lights Co-op. In 1986, George Munch and George Munch Jr. ran the place. Then came Bunny Waterhouse. Then came closure, again.
In 1990, the nonprofit Theatre in State, Inc., led by Harlin Quist, purchased the NorShor for $98,000. The balcony theater opened in 1992, but closed again in 1994 when Quist moved to Minneapolis. Ringsred and Arno Kahn assumed control of the building in 1995. By 1997, the mezzanine bar was open, run by Marvin Pomeroy. It was called the Stage Door Lounge and featured live music.
In the fall of 1997, Crossroads Flux, a partnership of Rick Boo, Chris Mackey and Jay Koski, reopened the theater as an independent film venue. Movies failed to draw crowds, except for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Live music often brought in large audiences, though. The theater closed again in October 2003.
It reopened in April 2004 under Tim Hartt and Pete Stuller. By July of the same year, Craig Samborski and Chip Stewart were running it. Shortly afterward came J. P. Rennquist. In 2005, the fire marshal shut the place down over code violations.
In 2006 it became a strip club.
