The shuttered, debt-ridden Orpheum Theater has a new owner. Businessman Andrew Reid says he is in the early planning stages for transforming the 1921 beaux-arts-style vaudeville house into a music venue showcasing local talent and big-name, touring performers. Reid tells The Times-Picayune that he bought the historic theater from Texas financiers for $675,000—the price they paid in 2006 for the building, which has been vacant since it was flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Reid says he also took out a $2.7 million mortgage on the property and agreed to pay about $44,000 in late taxes, interest and penalties. He says his plans don’t include either live theater or the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, which performed at the Orpheum for more than two decades.
Shuttered N.O. theater gets new owner
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