This is a list of theaters in Omaha, Nebraska. The entries include theaters used to present

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

s and professional live performances, including

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

acts,

plays Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

and musical

performance A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Management science In the work place ...

Introduction

Live performance theaters

In 1860, the dining room of the

Herndon House The Herndon House, later known as the International Hotel and then the Union Pacific Headquarters, was an early hotel located at Ninth and Farnam Streets in present-day Downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1858 by Omaha pioneer Dr. George L. Mill ...

hosted for the first dramatic performance in Omaha, using a borrowed bolt of muslin for a curtain. Julia Dean Hayne, a leading actress of the time, played the title role. These were the humble beginnings of Omaha's performing arts scene. Today the city is home to the Omaha Community Playhouse, a nationally recognized

community theater Community theatre refers to any theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community. It may refer to a production that is made entirely by a community with no outside hel ...

; the Holland Performing Arts Center; the beloved Orpheum Theater; and a host of other smaller performing arts venues.

Moving picture theaters

With more than 100 theaters since it was incorporated, Omaha's movie scene has never been static. Many of the early movie film theaters in Omaha were neighborhood theaters, small store-front establishments seating about 300 people on plain plywood seats. Most of the patrons of these early theaters walked to them or took street cars, so parking was not an issue. Larger theaters were congregated in

Downtown Omaha Downtown Omaha is the central business, government and social core of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area, U.S. state of Nebraska. The boundaries are Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha's 20th Street on the west to the Missouri River on the east and ...

, mainly along Douglas Street between Fourteenth and Sixteenth Streets, on what was called ''Theater Row''. As personal automobile ownership increased, suburban theaters were built, and several

drive-in theater A drive-in theater or drive-in cinema is a form of movie theater, cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers ...

s opened on what was then the outskirts of the city. Today, theater complexes with luxury seating, in-auditorium dining and bar service are prevalent. Omaha's last drive-in theater closed in 1987.

Current theaters

City National Bank Building, Omaha, Nebraska 041

Theaters of the past

Drive-in theaters

References

External links

Omaha's Theater Row

Orpheum Theater Entrance

Response to Usherette Ad at Paramount Theater

Chief Theater Entrance

Alternate View of Chief Theater Entrance

Historic Dundee Theater Photo

Dundee Theater Opening

Historic Photo of Sky-View Drive-In Screen

Cars Lined Up to Enter Sky-View Drive-In

Rocky Horror Picture Show at Admiral Theater

Artist's Rendering of the Cinema Center

Line into the Cinema Center

Omaha Movie Times August 24, 1973

Omaha Area Drive-In Theater Photos

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Theaters In Omaha, Nebraska

Theaters Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

Theatres in Nebraska Culture of Omaha, Nebraska

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

Theaters in Omaha