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Overview

The third theatre for the Orpheum circuit in Seattle stood opposite the Rialto Building in a mid-block location on the east side of 2nd Avenue.

Building History

This Seattle Orpheum Theatre operated between 1904-1908. It was the third "Orpheum" building listed in Appendix I of Elliott's A History of Variety-Vaudeville in Seattle from the Beginning to 1914, (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1944), p. 67. Edwin Lang served as the theatre manager in 1905. (See Polk's Seattle City Directory, [Seattle, Polk's Seattle Directory Company, 1905], p. 936.) Edward J. Donnellan acted in that capacity the following year. (See Polk's Seattle City Directory, [Seattle, Polk's Seattle Directory Company, 1906], p. 894.) The Orpheum Theatre and Realty Company operated the enterprise according to the Polk's Seattle City Directory of 1907. (See Polk's Seattle City Directory, [Seattle, Polk's Seattle Directory Company, 1907], p. 893.) The Orpheum Theatre and Realty Company was a subsidiary of the joint stock company Sullivan and Considine.

According to the Washington State court case, New York Life Insurance Company v. Orpheum Theater and Realty Company, (1918), "On the last date named [04/03/1908], the theater was closed in order that the building in which it had been conducted could be razed preparatory to the erection of the Leary building." (See "New York Life Insurance Co. v. Orpheum Theater and Realty Co., Washington Reports Vol. 100 Cases Determined in the Supreme Court of Washington, January 31, 1918-April 3, 1918, [Seattle and San Francisco: Bancroft-Whitney Company, 1918], p. 574.)

Building Notes

According to Eugene Clinton Elliott, A History of Variety-Vaudeville in Seattle from the Beginning to 1914, there were five separate theatres that had the name "Orpheum" before 1914. (See "Eugene Clinton Elliott, A History of Variety-Vaudeville in Seattle from the Beginning to 1914, Appendix I, [Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1944], p.66-67.) While the Orpheum Theatre #5 at 919 3rd Avenue (designed by William Kingsley) was also operating, Polk's Seattle City Directories between 1918-1920 also listed the former Moore Theatre at 1934 2nd Avenue as the "Orpheum Theatre." (The Moore/Orpheum became the sixth theatre to have the Orpheum name.)

Between 1885-1927, the name "Orpheum" was applied to a total of seven different theatrical venues in Seattle. The seventh was a design by B. Marcus Priteca (1889-1971) was located at 505 Stewart Street, erected in 1926-1927. It was demolished to make way for the Washington Park Hotel (later renamed the Westin Hotel).

Demolition

The Orpheum Theatre #3 was replaced by the Leary Building in 1908.

PCAD id: 18359