When crews unearthed dirt under the Orpheum Theatre's 103-year-old floors, Stacee Olden knew it needed to be preserved.
So she got a bucket.
“I thought ‘We need to save this and have it in a jar in our library,’” said Olden, the theater’s executive director.
The jar of dirt, along with the rest of the historic theatre, will be visible to the public again starting Aug. 30, after a 13-month-long renovation project.
In summer 2025, the Orpheum went dark to modernize the theater and preserve its past.
The $10.5 million initiative has added new flooring and seats as well as brought back twinkly-night sky lights to the theater. The Orpheum’s fire curtain, which depicts people strolling down a European-style path, has also been brightened to better showcase the artwork.
“With every new feature that was put in place in the theater, as we had planned, it just brought the theater back to life in full color, which we haven’t had before,” Olden said. “So every day I’ve walked in, I feel like it’s Christmas.”
The project’s capital campaign raised $13 million, the remaining $2.5 million of which will be put in an endowment fund for the theater.
The Orpheum’s grand opening will be an Aug. 30 concert performed by award-winning singer-songwriter John Legend. Olden said other reopening events will be announced later, including the unveiling of a new mural on the exterior of the theater.
Following a call for artists, Olden said three finalists are in the running to depict the theater’s almost 104-year history through artwork.
The restoration project goes beyond the physical theater as well — the theater unveiled a rebrand in June with a new logo and new fonts and colors for its website.
Olden said she is excited for the community to experience the renovated Orpheum.
“We all are so ready to share each and every one of these changes with the public, and hopefully these will be in place for more generations, so that we can continue the stories that have come for the last 103 years,” she said.
