Orpheum: history
The story of the Orpheum.
The Orpheum debuted in 1927 as Vancouver’s biggest vaudeville house. Later it transitioned into a movie palace and eventually a concert hall.
Through its over 90 year tenure, the opulent venue has hosted everyone from visiting royalty and political leaders to wartime recruiters and charitable organizations. Patrons travelled to Vancouver from around the world to experience legendary performers like Fred Astaire and the Marx Brothers, as well as up-and-comers like tap dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. This connection to a range of cinematic and live entertainment continues today with the venue regularly hosting classical music performances, film viewings and live shows.
Though the Orpheum has undergone extensive renovations in the last decades, the current venue retains key elements of its former splendour. Grand staircases lead to a series of lobbies. Scores of arches, varying from rounded Romanesque to pointed Gothic, lend the building a sense of progression and lead the eye to the proscenium stage.
These elements, combined with technological additions and state-of-the-art upgrades, contribute to the Orpheum’s historical narrative, bringing the theatre into the 21st century while paying homage to the era from which it came.