Category:Orpheum Theater, Allentown, Pennsylvania

Orpheum Theater (1906) 35 North 6th Street (Stage Vaudeville)

The Orpheum Theater at 35 North 6th Street opened in October 1906. It was owned by Sydney Wilmer and Walter Vincent of Utica, New York.

Wilmer & Vincent had wanted to open a theater in Allentown after the destruction of the Academy of Music fire in 1901. Basically, when visiting Allentown, they asked a postman what he considered to be a logical site or who could recommend a place for a theater. Shortly after, they were made aware of the fact that the Wolfe Carriage Factory, then owned by the Lieberman Brewing Company at 35 North 6th, was for sale. This was purchased by Wilmer & Vincent and after the former factory was torn down, in the spring of 1906 construction on the site began for the new theater.

The Orpheum Theater opened on 27 August 1906 as a Vaudeville theater. Up to that time, Allentown only had the Lyric Theater and several Nickelodeons as theaters. The Orpheum opened with a two-a-day policy, which meant two Vaudeville programs presented each day. The Orpheum also had its own theater stock company, with young actors that came from New York to present plays that were popular in New York City at the time. It presented live variety shows. The Orpheum mixed jugglers, song-and-dance teams and acrobats, comedians and other live performers. Allentown was a tryout venue for vaudeville acts and those who did well went to major cities such as Philadelphia, New York and Boston. Famous performers such as Eddie Cantor, Fred and Adele Astaire, Jack Benny, Bing Crosby, Buster Keaton and Will Rogers all played at the Orpheum.

In 1916, the theater was remodeled and expanded with the addition of a balcony. It also expanded to three-a-day performances. In June, 1920, the Orpheum was the first theater in Allentown to install air conditioning. In 1924, vaudeville moved to the larger Colonial Theater, also owned by Wilmer & Vincent and the Orpheum became a cinema. In 1926, the theater was closed for a renovation and to fully convert it into a cinema, with the addition of a multiple-projector room and a large screen to exhibit films. The theater was reopened on October 11 with a new name, "The State".

The venue finally closed for good in November 1952 due to a lack of attendance as more and more people began staying home to watch television. The cinema stood closed until it was finally sold to Park & Shop Corporation who saw the land it was on more valuable as a parking lot for shoppers who were frequenting the main Business and Shopping district of the city on Hamilton Street. Demolition began in January, 1954 and the former theater and cinema was asphalted over by August. The parking lot and former theater location was redeveloped into the Strata Symphony Apartment Complex as part of the NIZ in late 2017. It opened in December 2018.

Object location	40° 36′ 14″ N, 75° 28′ 12″ W	View all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap	40.603889; -75.470000