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The
Champaign Preservation and Conservation Association (PACA) sponsored a public meeting on April 8, 1989, in response to plans to raze the now closed and deteriorating theater. This meeting was held to gauge public interest in saving the Orpheum Theatre. The City of Champaign purchased the Orpheum
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Opening Night was on
October 19, 1914. The performance began with the New Orpheum orchestra, under the leadership of Larry J. Powers, playing the "Illinois Loyalty", followed by "America" and "The Star-Spangled Banner". Mayor Oliver B. Dobbins gave a short speech complimenting the management for its
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The owners were Joseph M. Finn and Marcus Heiman of F&H Amusement
Company. General contractor was Wile Brothers of Chicago, specialists in theater construction. The contract price was between $ 65,000 and $ 70,000. Work began in late May 1914. Mandel Brothers of Chicago had the contract for the
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The City of
Champaign razed the adjacent warehouse building in February 1991. In the fall of 1991, the theatre facade was cleaned and painted and the marquee given cosmetic repairs by PACA. The trompe l'oeil cornice reminiscent of the original was painted above the theater entrance. In 1994 the
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PACA hired theatre consultant
Michael Hardy to do a feasibility study of the Orpheum. He suggested, in July 1990, a children's museum as a possible use for the building. The city did not have a children's museum and there were already several successful performing arts facilities in the area.
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The board of the museum has expressed interest in either relocation or expansion of the facility. Proposals for reuse of the facility were requested by the museum board in
January 2009. However, by 2013, long-term plans for the museum involved expansion of the current facility.
496:(Uni High)'s teacher Sharlene Denos met with leading members of the museum to discuss a project that could be done in tandem with the high school. Within 6 months, her students materialized the initiative. As of March 2017, this addition is still visible at the museum.
435:). Under the management of RKO, the theater was increasingly devoted to the screening of films, rather than to live performance in the vaudeville tradition. In 1967 a major renovation created a modern appearance by adding an aluminum facade and redoing the lobby.
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and adjacent building as a site for a possible parking deck in
January 1990. The city allowed 45 PACA volunteers to spend Saturday, July 7, 1990, removing the aluminum facade to reveal the original look of the building and to assess any damage.
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During the
Orpheum's vaudeville period, part of the theater's second floor served as a boarding house, often housing African Americans at a time when local hotels practiced racial discrimination.
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One of the earliest examples of movie theater architecture, the
Orpheum is an early design by the prolific architectural firm Rapp and Rapp, a firm that would later design many famous American
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The
Orpheum was the main vaudeville stop in Champaign and Urbana, and a member of the noted Orpheum Circuit. It played host to many famous vaudevillians, including
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draperies and other interior decorations. The scenery was done by Sosman & Landis of Chicago, who were considered the best scenery painters in the middle west.
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446:. After this attempt failed, the Orpheum briefly returned to screening first run films, before finally closing in 1986, screening the trick slasher film
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elaborate and expensive effort to provide such an elegant theatre. Five high class vaudeville acts were presented, headlined by singer and comedian
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purchased the Orpheum, as the theater struggled to remain profitable. In 1982 GKC leased it, as part of an attempt to recast the Orpheum as an
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The Orpheum interior style is French Renaissance and Baroque and the exterior is Classical Revival. There were 754 seats and 18 loge boxes.
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The museum currently houses interactive exhibits and supports a variety of camps and clubs.
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368:(1929). A few of the now classic films shown during the Orpheum's long history include
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University and college buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places
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List of jails and prisons on the National Register of Historic Places
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National Register of Historic Places in Champaign County, Illinois
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Orpheum Children's Science Museum opened its doors to the public.
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began operating the Orpheum Theatre (it also operated the nearby
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Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois
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Preserved from demolition in 1991, the Orpheum is now home to a
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615:"Director leaving Orpheum; facility contemplates expansion"
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Rapp and Rapp designed the Orpheum as a scale model of the
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theater built in 1904. Designed by the Architectural firm
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Orpheum Children's Museum Seeks Proposal for New Building
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History of the National Register of Historic Places
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293:. The following year, they designed the
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891:Ebertfest: Roger Ebert's Film Festival
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563:History at Orpheum Children's Museum
16:Historic place in Champaign, Illinois
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524:National Register of Historic Places
459:Champaign Orpheum Children's Museum
1497:National Historic Preservation Act
901:JSM Challenger of Champaign–Urbana
578:"New displays, new fun at Orpheum"
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721:List of people from Champaign
232:, the Orpheum (also known as
107:Show map of the United States
19:United States historic place
1600:Science museums in Illinois
828:St. Thomas More High School
547:History at Cinema Treasures
312:Early history in vaudeville
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847:Cultural places and events
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184:Architectural style
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747:Champaign City Building
492:In the summer of 2014,
251:Design and construction
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1402:Lists by insular areas
1116:Keeper of the Register
823:Judah Christian School
813:Centennial High School
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730:History and government
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150:40.11944°N 88.24250°W
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295:Al. Ringling Theatre
82:Show map of Illinois
906:Krannert Art Museum
392:(1940 & 1968),
274:, Detroit (1926),
222:Champaign, Illinois
155:40.11944; -88.24250
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123:Champaign, Illinois
120:346-352 N. Neil St.
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621:. 11 October 2013
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366:Burns & Allen
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531:. July 9, 2010.
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334:Harry Houdini
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207:Added to NRHP
205:
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23:
1348:South Dakota
1338:Rhode Island
1333:Pennsylvania
1313:North Dakota
1038:
1026:
781:
672:
648:. Retrieved
644:
635:
623:. Retrieved
618:
609:
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586:. Retrieved
581:
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503:
491:
482:
479:
475:
471:
467:
448:
440:GKC Theaters
437:
429:RKO Pictures
426:
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410:(1955), and
405:
399:
393:
387:
381:
375:
369:
364:(1928), and
348:(1915), the
323:
315:
306:
303:
284:
261:
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238:
233:
217:
215:
1469:Other areas
1429:Puerto Rico
1263:Mississippi
1178:Connecticut
772:Inman Hotel
742:Cattle Bank
423:As a cinema
383:City Lights
377:Intolerance
346:Will Rogers
330:Red Skelton
287:opera house
153: /
129:Coordinates
1559:Categories
1378:Washington
1298:New Mexico
1293:New Jersey
1168:California
874:Dodds Park
859:Campustown
650:2017-03-12
500:References
358:Jack Benny
291:Versailles
226:vaudeville
220:opened in
141:88°14′33″W
1388:Wisconsin
1353:Tennessee
1258:Minnesota
1233:Louisiana
806:Education
444:art house
338:Chic Sale
174:Architect
138:40°7′10″N
1544:Category
1373:Virginia
1323:Oklahoma
1303:New York
1278:Nebraska
1268:Missouri
1253:Michigan
1243:Maryland
1228:Kentucky
1208:Illinois
1183:Delaware
1173:Colorado
1163:Arkansas
1027:Category
438:In 1971
416:(1964).
404:(1952),
398:(1941),
386:(1931),
380:(1917),
374:(1916),
362:Bob Hope
360:(1922),
356:(1921),
352:(1918),
336:(1923),
201:91000085
117:Location
1490:Related
1393:Wyoming
1368:Vermont
1273:Montana
1213:Indiana
1193:Georgia
1188:Florida
1158:Arizona
1148:Alabama
1039:Commons
625:June 3,
588:June 3,
1328:Oregon
1283:Nevada
1223:Kansas
1198:Hawaii
1153:Alaska
1089:Topics
714:People
243:, the
55:(2012)
1460:Palau
1358:Texas
1238:Maine
1203:Idaho
505:Notes
395:Dumbo
166:Built
1414:Guam
1363:Utah
1318:Ohio
1218:Iowa
885:MPBA
627:2015
590:2015
216:The
169:1914
297:in
289:at
196:No.
1561::
643:.
617:.
580:.
569:^
553:^
537:^
527:.
521:.
344:,
340:,
332:,
328:,
1144::
1074:e
1067:t
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887:)
883:(
699:e
692:t
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653:.
629:.
592:.
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