Saenger Theatre Information

Completed on the 4th of February, 1927, construction of the Saenger Theatre began 3 years prior in 1924. The whole process cost about $2.5 million, and its opening was cause for a celebratory parade of thousands down Canal Street!

The building’s fascinating interior architecture is the work of Emile Weil, who designed the inside of the theatre to look like an Italian Baroque Courtyard. He installed hundreds of lights in the ceiling, arranged to mimic constellations, and used special effects machines to project images of sunrises, sunsets and rolling clouds, giving audiences an incredible atmospheric theater experience!

Throughout history, the theater has been through serious wear and tear, divided into two smaller theatres in 1964 and suffering water damage by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Happily, the building has since been fully restored, and visitors to the Saener Theatre can expect to see it much as it would have been over 70 years ago.