Bijou Dream Theatre (#2)

There were three Bijou Dream movie houses in New Orleans’ cinema history. Pearce’s Bijou Dream Theatre (#2) opened at this location in September 1910, repurposing an existing building that had previously housed a local mini-chain outlet of Fabacher’s Restaurants. (An unrelated Bijou Dream Theater operated at 3027 Magazine Street for one year, from July 1908 to July 1909.)

Josiah Pearce & Sons Syndicate began as a carnival operation before expanding into a cinema circuit. In New Orleans, they launched the Theatorium—soon renamed the Electric Theatre—in 1905, followed by the Dreamland Theatre and the Grand Theatre, before adding several other venues. The Bijou Dream Theatre proved especially successful, drawing both locals and visitors staying at the nearby St. Charles Hotel.

There were some bad dreams for the location. Labor unrest affected Pearce’s theaters—including the Bijou Dream Theatre, Newcomb Theatre, and Rialto Theatre when projectionists staged a walkout on June 23, 1918. The dispute included the destruction of current films and damage to projection equipment.

The Bijou Dream Theatre reopened within two days and appears to only have operated into late 1920. The venue was overshadowed by far superior movie palaces. But Pearce didn’t give up; the operation was moved to Cambias Hall on Burgundy Street, reopening the venue as Bijou Dream Theatre (#3). Just as sound was coming to cinema, Pearce & Sons left the cinema exhibition industry focusing only on carnivals. Bijou Dream (#3) was wired for sound under its new operator as the Bijou Theatre(It has its own page on Cinema Treasures).

In recent years the building has been used as an Oyster restaurant which closed in early-2017. The building is still vacant and boarded up in 2026.

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