Circle Theater
1709 N. Galvez Street,
New Orleans,
LA
70119
1709 N. Galvez Street,
New Orleans,
LA
70119
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The Circle Theater was opened by Jadel Theaters Inc. on on September 27, 1939 with John Garfield in “They Made Me a Criminal”. It had a large 900-seat balcony which was for African-American patrons. Caucasian patrons sat in the 580-seat orchestra level. It became a desegregated movie theatre from December 22, 1971 when Rene Brunet Jr. took over as operator. It was sold on October 21, 1977 and became a bingo hall, but was taken back by Rene Brunet Jr. on March 30, 1982, still operating as a bingo hall, but also featuring live performances on its stage. It was closed on November 19, 1990 and was demolished on December 11, 1990.
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Lost Memory
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
A picture from 1987 can be seen here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/daveglass/2472257452/
A Rally’s hamburger store now stands on the former Circle theater site.
Here is an interesting photo:
http://tinyurl.com/yj94s28
My computer doesn’t recognize those kind of photos from the library site, unfortunately. I get a square with an x in it. Occasionally I end up with a duplication like this one, apparently.
Announcing a book about New Orleans Movie Theaters
THEREâ€\S ONE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
The History of the Neighborhood Theaters in New Orleans
is being written by 89-year-old Rene Brunet, the dean of the motion picture industry in Louisiana, and New Orleans historian and preservationist Jack Stewart. The 160-page,coffee table book will be released in November and is being published by Arthur Hardy Enterprises, Inc. Attention will be focused on 50 major neighborhood and downtown theaters, culled from a list of nearly 250 that have dotted the cityâ€\s landscape since the first “nickelodeon†opened in 1896 at 626 Canal Street. The book will be divided by neighborhoods and will open with a map and a narrative about each area. Each major theater will feature “then and now†photographs, historic information, and a short series of quotes from famous New Orleanians and from regular citizens who will share their recollections.
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED
We are trying to acquire memorabilia and additional photos of this theater for this publication. (deadline July 1.) You will be credited in the book and receive a free autographed copy if we publish the picture that you supply. Please contact Arthur Hardy at or call 504-913-1563 if you can help.
This opened on September 27th, 1939. An grand opening ad has been uploaded in this theater’s photo page.
Boxoffice of February 10, 1940 said: “New Orleans — Jaydell Theatres has opened its new Circle, costing $125,000.” Looks like their announcement was over four months late.
If this interesting web page is correct (I believe it is), they also misspelled Jadel. Jacques Dicharry’s Jadel Theatres also operated the Carver Theatre and the Lincoln Theatre.