Liberty Theatre

By Cody Wild, Vicki Mayer & Kathryn O'Dwyer, editor

The Liberty Theatre owned by the Saenger Amusement Company and managed under the auspices of Boehringer Amusement Company opened in 1918. The theater was lavishly designed with the intention of being “the most complete motion picture theater in the South.” [1] The theater was complete with ceiling frescoes completed by Italian artist Guiseppe Rossi, a marble staircase leading to its foyer, and a miniaturized Statue of Liberty adorning its cornice. [2]

When Liberty first opened the theater regularly screened a combination of dramatic films, newsreels, and short comedies. Matinee screenings began 1 p.m. and cost just 10 cents. Evening screenings, which ran from 6 p.m. until midnight, cost a whopping 15 cents. [3]

The Liberty Theatre was acquired by RKO Pictures by the 1950s and ultimately shuttered its doors in 1955. The structure was demolished and today the site is home to a portion of the Pan American Life Center.

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422-424 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA

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Cody Wild, Vicki Mayer, and Kathryn O'Dwyer, editor, “Liberty Theatre,” New Orleans Historical, accessed March 30, 2023, https://neworleanshistorical.org/items/show/1062.

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Related Sources

  • [1] Moving Picture World, October 28, 1916.
  • [2] “Liberty Now Rapidly Nearing Completion,” New Orleans Item, April 17, 1915.
  • [3] Times-Picayune, August 1, 1918, page 12.
Published on Mar 6, 2016. Last updated on Apr 9, 2020.