© 2026, Christian Cassidy
Winnipeg's Orpheum Theatre closed its doors 80 years ago this month. For just 18 of its 35 years it was the local home to the Orpheum vaudeville chain and brought town many performers who would go on to the be 20th century entertainment icons.
Here's a look back at the Orpheum's history.
Cross section looking at stage opening, (Archives of Manitoba) PAM
In late March 1910, a $450,000 building permit was issued to the Orpheum Theatre Co. to build a new venue on the east side of Fort Street between Portage and Graham avenues. (The land is now part of Winnipeg Square.)
At the time, the California-based vaudeville company owned 18 U.S. theatres and had affiliate agreements with 14 more. It also had 25 affiliates in the U.K. and one in Paris and Berlin. Winnipeg was its first Canadian entry.
The primary architect for the new building was Kirchhoff and Rose of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (It would later design a new Orpheum for Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1921). John D. Atchison was the local supervising architect.
Work got underway in early April 1910 on the demolition of the existing building and stables on the site and excavation began by the end of the month.
For reasons not explained in the newspapers, the construction schedule fell far behind over the summer. It was initially said that the theatre could be open by September 1, but by mid-August, workers were just erecting the steel superstructure.
One culprit in the delay was likely procuring its massive steel beam that measured 90 feet long by five feet wide. It was created at the Manitoba Bridge and Iron Works foundry on Logan Avenue at Arlington Street and was reported to be the "largest ever made or handled in Western Canada". It took three and a half hours to move it to the site on August 10.
The first manager of Winnipeg's Orpheum theatre was Clarence L. Dean.
Dean spent more than a decade in Europe as an agent for Barnum and Bailey's, then Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show. He returned to North America in 1910 to be the manager of the St. Paul, Minnesota, Orpheum theatre.
After ten months there, he and his family transferred to Winnipeg during the final stages of construction. He also oversaw the circuit's expansion to Regina, Calgary and Edmonton in affiliate theatres.
Dean left in November 1913, then E. J. Sullivan then took over the venue.
Sullivan had managed Chicago's Studebaker Theatre for several years before becoming a vaudeville talent agent. He stayed here until November 1924, then left to manage the Martin Beck Theatre in New York City.
For reasons not explained in the newspapers, the construction schedule fell far behind over the summer. It was initially said that the theatre could be open by September 1, but by mid-August, workers were just erecting the steel superstructure.
One culprit in the delay was likely procuring its massive steel beam that measured 90 feet long by five feet wide. It was created at the Manitoba Bridge and Iron Works foundry on Logan Avenue at Arlington Street and was reported to be the "largest ever made or handled in Western Canada". It took three and a half hours to move it to the site on August 10.
Dean spent more than a decade in Europe as an agent for Barnum and Bailey's, then Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show. He returned to North America in 1910 to be the manager of the St. Paul, Minnesota, Orpheum theatre.
After ten months there, he and his family transferred to Winnipeg during the final stages of construction. He also oversaw the circuit's expansion to Regina, Calgary and Edmonton in affiliate theatres.
Dean left in November 1913, then E. J. Sullivan then took over the venue.
Sullivan had managed Chicago's Studebaker Theatre for several years before becoming a vaudeville talent agent. He stayed here until November 1924, then left to manage the Martin Beck Theatre in New York City.
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Patrons who walked through the door on opening night were greeted by a spacious lobby lined in white marble and a staircase on each side to go down to the men's smoking room or ladies' waiting room. The hall had five aisles and seated 1,875 on the floor, balcony and loges. Its carpet and velour-covered chairs were green, the curtain was lavender, and the walls were painted ivory with gold trim and accents.
The stage measured 40 feet wide by 34 feet deep and there was an orchestra pit to hold what was reported to be Winnipeg's largest in-house orchestra.
The stage measured 40 feet wide by 34 feet deep and there was an orchestra pit to hold what was reported to be Winnipeg's largest in-house orchestra.
The opening week's show featured six acts headlined by Joseph Hart's The Bathing Girl Revue, a troupe of women singing, dancing and doing skits in Victorian-era swimwear.
Also on the bill were: Bert Coote and Company with a one-act comedic play called A Lamb in Wall Street; musical comedy from Cook and Lorenz; The Melnotte Twins with musician Clay Smith; European acrobats The Kremka Brothers; and Goleman's European Novelty, which featured tricks with dogs, cats and sometimes pigeons.
Between acts, patrons were entertained by the orchestra, which sometimes accompanied a short Photoplane film. This was an early film projection technique that allowed films to be screened in full light to avoid eye fatigue and was installed in all Orpheum-owned theatres in 1911.
The Orpheum's fare was typical of vaudeville with a mix of dancers, singers, musicians, acrobats, comedians, and the odd animal show. Out of the thousands of performers who passed through the stage door, some stood out and went on to greater fame.
One example is “The Four Marx Brothers”, not in costume and under their real names of Herbert, Leonard, Arthur and Julius, who came three times. The first time was in late December 1917 with a comedy sketch called "Home Again". They returned in February 1920 with "'N Everything" and again in the first week of 1922 with "On the Balcony".
The next time Winnipegers saw them was on the silver screen in 1929.
One of its stronger weeks was in February 1923, when escape artist Henry Houdini and comedian Jack Benny shared the bill. Houdini had appeared at the Orpheum before in 1915. The 1923 visit included his great escape from atop the Free Press building.
Popular Ukrainian-American singer Sophie Tucker, who played Winnipeg numerous times, came under the Orpheum banner in 1912, 1916, 1917 and 1924.
Other entertainers of future note included: comedian W. C. Fields in 1912 and 1915; "The Oklahoma Cowboy" Will Rogers in 1913; singer and comedian Fanny Brice in 1916; and George Burns with Gracie Allen in 1927.
Not all of the performers were traditional entertainers.
Helen Keller, with teacher/companion Anne Sullivan Macy, came in 1921 to address the crowd and answer questions. Newspaper reviews called her captivating and witty. She had been to Winnipeg before in 1914 under the auspices of the University Women's Club.
As seen in the ad above for the Helen Keller appearance, another name on the bill was violinist Marjorie Barrack. She was likely the only solo Winnipegger to make the bill on the Orpheum circuit.
Winnipeggers did do vaudeville, but it was more likely with Pantages, which wasn't Winnipeg-based but kicked off many of its vaudeville tours here and could add local performers to fill out or replace an act. Also, the Walker sometimes premiered touring productions here that would go on the road, such as the popular Winnipeg Kiddies shows.
The shows that arrived with the northern tour of the Orpheum circuit were usually well-established by the time they arrived here from St. Paul, Minnesota.
Barrack began making a name for herself in 1910, around age fourteen, as one of the most promising young students of local music teacher Camille Couture and appeared regularly in recitals and small concerts around town.
She spent the summer of 1914 in Dresden, Germany, as a student of Leopold von Auer. After she returned, she began performing as a soloist in Winnipeg and other cities.
By 1920, Barrack had married and went by Barrack-Beliveau, and signed on for her first tour with Orpheum as a violin soloist. A second 20-week tour began the following September, which is how she met Keller. The two remained in touch by letter.
Two seasons were enough for Barrack, and she returned to Winnipeg to teach and play the odd concert here and in other cities, going as far as London, England.
Winnipeggers did do vaudeville, but it was more likely with Pantages, which wasn't Winnipeg-based but kicked off many of its vaudeville tours here and could add local performers to fill out or replace an act. Also, the Walker sometimes premiered touring productions here that would go on the road, such as the popular Winnipeg Kiddies shows.
The shows that arrived with the northern tour of the Orpheum circuit were usually well-established by the time they arrived here from St. Paul, Minnesota.
October 7, 1922, Winnipeg Tribune
Barrack began making a name for herself in 1910, around age fourteen, as one of the most promising young students of local music teacher Camille Couture and appeared regularly in recitals and small concerts around town.
She spent the summer of 1914 in Dresden, Germany, as a student of Leopold von Auer. After she returned, she began performing as a soloist in Winnipeg and other cities.
By 1920, Barrack had married and went by Barrack-Beliveau, and signed on for her first tour with Orpheum as a violin soloist. A second 20-week tour began the following September, which is how she met Keller. The two remained in touch by letter.
Two seasons were enough for Barrack, and she returned to Winnipeg to teach and play the odd concert here and in other cities, going as far as London, England.
French singer and actress Sarah Bernhardt came to Winnipeg twice on the Orpheum circuit along with her own cast and crew.
The first visit was from January 6 to 12, 1913. In an unusual move, there was an extended break between Berrnhardt's show and the rest of the bill so that patrons could opt to pay to come see just her.
To ensure repeat visits, Berhnhardt and her company varied their performances. On Monday, it was Lucrezia Borgia act III, Tuesday was La Tosca act III, Wednesday and Thursday was One Christmas Night, and Friday and Saturday was Camille act V.
On her second visit in 1918, she and her players performed a war-inspired one-act play called "From the Theatre to the Field of Honour" from Monday to Wednesday, and "Camille" from Thursday to Saturday. As with her previous visit, there was special pricing to see just her show.
December 14, 1927, Winnipeg Tribune
Vaudeville struggled to fill seats though the 1920s due to the popularity of talking pictures which had become the entertainment of choice amongst the masses. In order to survive, Orpheum's parent company was part of several huge corporate mergers.
The first was in December 1927, when it merged with the Keith-Albee Company to create Keith-Albee-Orpheum, which boasted 500 theatres across North America, both movie houses and live venues. The following year, Radio Corporation of America, (RCA) joined the fold and the parent company became known as Radio-Keith-Orpheum, or RKO.
A division of RKO called RKO Pictures would soon become one of the big five movie studios during Hollywood's golden era.
The first was in December 1927, when it merged with the Keith-Albee Company to create Keith-Albee-Orpheum, which boasted 500 theatres across North America, both movie houses and live venues. The following year, Radio Corporation of America, (RCA) joined the fold and the parent company became known as Radio-Keith-Orpheum, or RKO.
A division of RKO called RKO Pictures would soon become one of the big five movie studios during Hollywood's golden era.
In May 1929, RKO and Famous Players Canada created RKO Canada Ltd., which saw Famous Players take over the operation of RKO’s Canadian theatres (this was likely just Winnipeg and Vancouver in the West.)
Both the Orpheum and Famous Players' Capitol theatres closed in the summer of 1929 for repairs and rebranding.
The rechristened RKO-Capitol, built as a movie theatre, received extensive renovations and reopened on September 23rd as the home to both first-run movies and Orpheum's live vaudeville shows.
The Orpheum, now called RKO-Winnipeg, reopened on October 2nd as a movie house with Clara Bow's "Dangerous Curves" and was also a theatre for hire for speeches, sermons, ceremonies, recitals and other events.
As the 1930s wore on, the RKO-Winnipeg's role as a first-run movie venue waned. It soon introduced British films to its lineup, then began offering special nights with two-for-one admissions. The stage for rent devolved into weeks of boxing and wrestling matches in early 1933.
It appears the theatre may have closed for all but rental events in late 1934 and 1935. It reopened in January 1936 under the name Winnipeg-Orpheum to show films and host special events.
In the 1940s, the Orpheum was leased out as a military recruitment office in its lobby and to host shows for troops and their families in the hall.
On January 24, 1946, a group of local businessmen announced that they had purchased the theatre from Famous Players for around $30,000 on the condition that it not reopen as a theatre. Famous Players oversaw the removal of seats, projectors, lighting and anything else that made it a theatre.
The last show to take place at the Orpheum was the 235th and final performance of the City Hydro concert troupe on February 10, 1946. This revue featured a mix of singers, musicians, and dancers that began its shows to entertain military personnel and their families at Camp Shilo in May 1939.
The building was demolished later that year and the land became a surface parking lot. It was incorporated into the Winnipeg Square development in the 1970s.
Both the Orpheum and Famous Players' Capitol theatres closed in the summer of 1929 for repairs and rebranding.
The rechristened RKO-Capitol, built as a movie theatre, received extensive renovations and reopened on September 23rd as the home to both first-run movies and Orpheum's live vaudeville shows.
The Orpheum, now called RKO-Winnipeg, reopened on October 2nd as a movie house with Clara Bow's "Dangerous Curves" and was also a theatre for hire for speeches, sermons, ceremonies, recitals and other events.
It appears the theatre may have closed for all but rental events in late 1934 and 1935. It reopened in January 1936 under the name Winnipeg-Orpheum to show films and host special events.
In the 1940s, the Orpheum was leased out as a military recruitment office in its lobby and to host shows for troops and their families in the hall.
The last show to take place at the Orpheum was the 235th and final performance of the City Hydro concert troupe on February 10, 1946. This revue featured a mix of singers, musicians, and dancers that began its shows to entertain military personnel and their families at Camp Shilo in May 1939.
The building was demolished later that year and the land became a surface parking lot. It was incorporated into the Winnipeg Square development in the 1970s.
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