Oriental Theatre is a theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin operated by Milwaukee Film. The theater was built and opened in 1927 as a movie palace with East Indian decor. It is said to be the only movie palace to incorporate East Indian artwork.[2] Designed by Gustave A. Dick and Alex Bauer, the theater has two minaret towers, three stained glass chandeliers, several hand-drawn murals, six bigger-than-life Buddhas, dozens of original draperies, eight porcelain lions, and hundreds of elephants.
 Oriental Theatre lobby | |
 | |
| Address | 2230 North Farwell Avenue Milwaukee United States |
|---|---|
| Public transit |  MCTS |
| Owner | Newland Enterprises LLP |
| Operator | Milwaukee Film |
| Capacity | 1530 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | July 2, 1927[1] |
| Architect | Gustave A. Dick Alex Bauer |
| Website | |
| https://cinema.mkefilm.org/oriental-theatre | |
The Oriental Theatre has been showing independent and art films, as well as a few blockbuster Hollywood films.
The theater is the world record holder for continual showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.[3] It has hosted the film as a Saturday midnight movie since January 1978.
In 2005, the theater was dubbed one of the "10 Theaters Doing It Right" by Entertainment Weekly.[4]
In 2016, local artists oversaw the installation of a new street art destination in the alley behind the Oriental Theater, and named it the Black Cat Alley. '[5] As a part of the Black Cat Alley installation, French artist MTO painted a large mural of a green frog entitled "MTO's Bug" on the south wall of the theater, facing Kenilworth Avenue.'[6] The theater building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2023.[7]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Saxe O Grams - Theater Newsletter". Astortheater.org. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
- ^ "Oriental Theatre in Milwaukee, WI - Cinema Treasures". Cinematreasures.org. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
- ^ Devlin, Ryan. "Let's do the Time Warp Again. And Again. And Again". Premiere, vol. 18, no. 9 (June 2005) pp. 58-60, 62-3.
- ^ "10 Theaters doing it right". Entertainment Weekly. August 5, 2005. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
- ^ Schumacher, Mary Louise. "Street art festival coming to a Milwaukee alley". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ Hauer, Sarah. "Murals transforming east side path into Black Cat Alley". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
- ^ "Weekly List 2023 02 03". National Park Service. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
External links edit
- Oriental Theatre at CinemaTreasures.org