Bookmans has long been a supporter of the Orpheum Theater, but now we’re sponsoring great movies on a monthly basis! The Orpheum Theater, a local landmark in historic downtown Flagstaff, Arizona, was built by John Weatherford, who owned of the Weatherford Hotel just up the street in the early 1900s.

The theater was actually born from an old movie house. Weatherford showed Flagstaff's first movies in his Majestic Opera House, which opened in 1911. All was well at the Majestic until just hours after revelers celebrating the New Year of 1915 had gone home, when the roof and most of the walls of building collapsed under 61 inches of snow! Weatherford pulled his projector out of the ruins of the Majestic and the movies moved temporarily onto Aspen Street in a building that was once a garage, and soon became the Orpheum. The bigger and better theater opened its doors in August 1917 and delighted audiences for decades. It closed in the late 1990s when the company that owned it left Flagstaff.

After a three year hiatus, the Orpheum was revived. Following months of extensive renovations, the theater reopened in late 2002 poised to entertain a new generation of Flagstaff residents and visitors. The theater now boasts plush seating, an expansive balcony, state-of-the-art sound, a full bar, and a lounge.

Some of the films shown at The Orpheum are free, some are cult-classics, and many are family-friendly. Bookmans already helped host “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” for Halloween, and multiple showings of the kids’ movie “The Grinch” for Christmas, but now we plan to become a regular sponsor of the screenings and the theater. Here’s a list of the Orpheum’s upcoming films:

Tuesday January 19th: Fight Club
Saturday January 23rd: Pink Floyd- The Wall
Tuesday January 26th: The Yes Men Fix the World
Saturday January 30th: Spike and Mike's Animation Festival
Tuesday February 2nd:  Ground Hog's Day (on Ground Hog’s Day)

There will be a lot more great movies to come, and Bookmans will be hosting something extra special in August for our Movie Madness Month! On a side note, Bookmans is also partnered with the Heritage Square Trust to help sponsor “Movies on the Square,” free, family-friendly movies that happen in the summer each Wednesday evening outside in Heritage Square!

To keep track of what’s showing at the Orpheum Theater, pick up a Flag Live or go to the Orpehum Theater website.