Editing Saenger Theatre

{{Infobox Building
|image=SaengerTheatre.jpg
|caption=The Saenger exterior and marquee before its 2007 renovations
|name=Saenger Theatre
|location=118 S [[Palafox Street]]<br/>Pensacola, FL 32502
|architect=[[Emile Weil]]
|client=[[Saenger Amusement Company]]
|engineer=[[C.H. Turner]]
|owner=[[City of Pensacola]]
|construction_start_date=
|completion_date=[[April 2]], [[1925]]<br/>(opening)
|renovations=1962<br/>1977-1981 ($1.6 million)<br/>1995 (lobby)
|date_demolished=
|cost=$500,000 (donated (1975)
|structural_system=
|style=Spanish Rococo
|size=1,784 seats
|mapcode=<googlemap lat="30.410773" lon="-87.214762" zoom="17" width="288" height="288">
30.410754, -87.214794, Saenger Theatre
</googlemap>
}}
{{For|the Saenger Theatre in Mobile, Alabama|Saenger Theatre (Mobile)}}

The [[Saenger Theatre]], affectionately called the "Grand Dame of Palafox," is a historic theater on South [[Palafox Street]]. Since its 1925 opening as a Vaudeville performance hall, it later became a movie house until its closure in [[1975]]. The building was saved from demolition when it was donated to the [[City of Pensacola]] and restored, reopening in [[1981]]. Since then it has become a popular concert venue and is home to many of Pensacola's performing arts organizations.

==Early Years==
{{cquote|We have an abiding faith in the future of Pensacola and are not only keeping faith with the Pensacola people, whom we promised to give a theatre, but we are planning for the future.|40px|40px|E.M. Clarke, Secretary, Saenger Amusement Company}}
[[Image:RobertMortonOrgan.jpg|thumb|left|The Robert Morton organ installed in 1927]]The Saenger Theatre is one of several Pensacola theaters opened by the [[Saenger Amusement Company]] (the others being the [[Bonita Theatre|Bonita]] and [[Isis Theatre]]s). It was designed by New Orleans architect [[Emile Weil]], who designed many theaters of the same name across the country (including the [[Saenger Theatre (Mobile)|Mobile Saenger]]). Bricks and iron railings were salvaged from the rubbled of the old [[Pensacola Opera House]], destroyed in a [[1916]] hurricane, and incorporated into the Saenger's construction by builder [[C.H. Turner]].

The Pensacola Saenger opened on [[April 2]], [[1925]], at the peak of Vaudeville popularity; its first performance, emceed by County Solicitor [[William Fisher]], included an orchestra performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner," followed by [[Miss Kehoe's Aesthetics Dancing Class]] performing the "Dance of Old Seville," then a solo by [[Agnes Neudorff]], the crowning of [[Blanche Morgan]] as Miss Pensacola, and finally the main feature: Cecil B. de Mille's ''The Ten Commandments'', projected from "Dr. Mendenhall's new transvertical non-statical projectographic machine."<ref>[http://www.pensacolasaenger.com/history-art-saenger.asp The Pensacola Saenger, by Christine Englert]</ref> In 1927, a Robert Morton organ (later nicknamed "Lola") was installed in the theater.<ref>http://www.ellises.org/gcatos.htm Gulf Coast Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society]</ref>

==Decline & Restoration==
[[Image:Saenger.gif|thumb|left]]As the popularity of Vaudeville-style performances waned, seats were added to make the Saenger strictly a movie house. During [[World War II]], it showed newsreels 24 hours a day. The box seats were torn down as movies were increasingly shot in widescreen. During the 60s and 70s, with the arrival of more modern theaters, movie audiences abandoned the Saenger. It gained the reputation as an adult movie house and continued to deteriorate. The owners, ABC Southeastern Theatres, closed its doors on [[November 13]], [[1975]], and donated the building to the City of Pensacola a month later on [[December 8]]. After [[Pensacola Junior College]] rejected an offer to take control, the Saenger's future looked bleak, until the [[University of West Florida]] pledged a half-million dollars to rent the theater over the next twenty years. Combined with donations raised by the newly-formed "Friends of the Saenger" and a city loan, $1.6 million was spent to bring the Saenger back to its 1925 glory: the box seats were restored from Weil's original blueprints, the main floor was newly-carpeted and reupholstered, and the stage's electrical components and curtain/fly systems were upgraded to modern standards. It reopened on [[September 26]], [[1981]], the Saenger reopened with "A Champagne Evening to Remember," featuring a performance by the Duke Ellington Orchestra.<ref>[http://www.pensacolasaenger.com/history-art-renovations.asp A History of Renovations]</ref>

==The Grand Dame Lives==
Since its 1981 reopening, the Saenger has become Pensacola's premier mid-size venue. It is the primary performance home of groups like the [[Pensacola Symphony Orchestra]], [[Pensacola Opera]], [[Pensacola Children's Chorus]] and [[Ballet Pensacola]]. Managed by Philadelphia-based [[SMG]], the Saenger also hosts touring musicians, Broadway-style shows and other entertainers. Renovations in [[1996]] doubled the number of restrooms, increased the lobby and concession area, and added a ramp and elevator for accessibility.

The Saenger will close in mid-2007 for a comprehensive "Expansion and Renovation Project" that will cost an estimated $9 million, paid for by the city's [[local option sales tax]], grants and private donations. Some of the renovations will include:
*Stage extended to [[Jefferson Street]]
*Two-story backstage facilities on south end ([[Intendencia Street]] parking lot)
*New covered loading dock & freight elevator
*New seats for the entire main floor
*New lobby space added
*Additional restrooms and meeting rooms added
*Exapnded orchestra shell
*Enhanced acoustics, sound equipment and lighting
The theater will reopen in fall 2008. Many performing arts groups that use the Saenger as their primary venue have found alternative sites for the 2007-08 season. For example, the [[Pensacola Symphony Orchestra]] will hold its "Masterworks" concerts at [[First Baptist Church]].

==External Links==
*[http://www.pensacolasaenger.com/ Official site]
*[http://www.ticketmaster.com/venue/221716 TicketMaster]
*[http://www.saengeramusements.com/theatres/pensacol/saenger/pcsaenger.htm Saenger Amusements history]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:National Register of Historic Sites]]
[[Category:Historic theaters]]
[[Category:Palafox Street buildings]]