Editing Saenger Theatre

|name=[[Image:SaengerLogo.png|215px|center|Saenger Theatre]]

|renovations=1962<br/>1977-1981 ($1.6 million)<br/>1996 (lobby)<br/>2007-09 ($15 million)

|size=1,784 seats (original?)<br/> 1,802 (before 2007-09 renovations)<br/>1,608 (after renovations)

|mapcode=<googlemap lat="30.410773" lon="-87.214762" type="map" zoom="16" width="300" height="150">

The [[Saenger Theatre]], affectionately called the "Grand Dame of Palafox," is a historic theater on South [[Palafox Street]]. Opened in 1925 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]]; it was then restored, reopening in [[1981]]. Since then it has become a popular concert venue and is home to many of Pensacola's performing arts organizations.

[[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 [[Rex Theatre|Rex]] 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 rubble of the old [[Pensacola Opera House]], demolished after being damaged in the hurricanes of [[Hurricane of 1916|1916]] and [[Hurricane of 1917|1917]], 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]], plus 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>

[[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]], 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>

Since its 1981 reopening, the Saenger has become Pensacola's premier mid-size venue. It is the primary performance home of 45 organizations including 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 entertainments. Renovations in [[1996]] doubled the number of restrooms, increased the lobby and concession area, and added a ramp and elevator for accessibility.  

The Saenger closed in mid-2007 for a comprehensive "Expansion and Renovation Project" that enlarged the total area of the theater from 33,514 to 61,570 square feet. Designed by architect [[Miller Caldwell, Jr.]] of [[Caldwell Associates]], some of the renovations included:

*Stage extension to [[Jefferson Street]] for prop storage and unimpeded cross over.

*New, wider seats for the entire main floor. Growing from 18 inches to 23 inches, the total number of seats was reduced from 1,802 to 1,641.

*Expanded orchestra shell.

When the renovation project was initially approved in February [[2005]], it was estimated to cost around $9 million: $6 million paid by the City of Pensacola's [[local option sales tax]], $2 million from [[Escambia County]], and the remainder from grants and private donations. In [[2007]], however, revised projections put the cost closer to $15 million. According to Capital Committee chairman [[Bill Greenhut]], owner of [[Greenhut Construction Company]] and community leader of the fundraising efforts, "Construction costs have gone up around 40 to 50 percent, and I can attest to that."<ref name="pnj032507">"The show will go on." ''Pensacola News Journal'', March 25, 2007</ref> Due to the crisis local governments are facing with [[property tax]]es and [[property insurance|insurance]], combined with the [[2007 City of Pensacola budget adjustment|City of Pensacola's 2007 budget shortfall]], fundraisers were reluctant to ask for more public funding. However, Greenhut says, "If there's better news from the Legislature, we would like to go back to the City Council in April or May and ask for an additional sum of money."<ref name="pnj032507"/>

The final performance at the Saenger before it closed for renovations was "Get Back! Cast of [[Wikipedia:Beatlemania|Beatlemania]]" on [[June 30]]. At the time, a ''[[Pensacola News Journal]]'' article disclosed that only about $8.75 million had been raised, and that about $900,000 expected from state grants had fallen through in the Florida Legislature.<ref>"Saenger has last hurrah before renovations." ''Pensacola News Journal,'' June 30, 2007.</ref>

 

 

 

 

 

 

==External links & references==

[[Category:City of Pensacola Enterprise Operations]] [[Category:Historic theaters]] [[Category:National Register of Historic Places]] [[Category:Palafox Street buildings]] [[Category:Properties owned by the City of Pensacola]]