Oriental Theatre
Oriental Theatre lobby
Address2230 North Farwell Avenue
Milwaukee
United States
Public transitBus transport MCTS
OwnerNewland Enterprises LLP
OperatorMilwaukee Film
Capacity1530
Construction
OpenedJuly 2, 1927[1]
ArchitectGustave A. Dick
Alex Bauer
Website
https://cinema.mkefilm.org/oriental-theatre

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.

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

References

  1. ↑ "Saxe O Grams - Theater Newsletter". Astortheater.org. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Oriental Theatre in Milwaukee, WI - Cinema Treasures". Cinematreasures.org. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ "10 Theaters doing it right". Entertainment Weekly. August 5, 2005. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  5. ↑ Schumacher, Mary Louise. "Street art festival coming to a Milwaukee alley". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  6. ↑ Hauer, Sarah. "Murals transforming east side path into Black Cat Alley". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  7. ↑ "Weekly List 2023 02 03". National Park Service. Retrieved 2023-02-04.

43°03′35″N 87°53′08″W / 43.059657°N 87.885664°W / 43.059657; -87.885664

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