New Brandeis Theatre building, Douglas and Seventeenth Streets, Omaha, Neb.
Description
Color postcard (14 x 9 cm.) with an exterior view of the Brandeis Theatre on the southwest corner of 17th and Douglas Streets in Omaha, Nebraska. All of the east and north side of the seven story building is seen. There is a large arched entryway on the east side covered by an awning. Pedestrians are in front and crossing the street. The title New Brandeis Theater Building, Douglas and Seventeenth Streets, Omaha, Neb. is in the top right corner.
One of the premiere theaters, the Brandeis was built in 1910 on the south side of Douglas between 17th & 18th Streets. It was dubbed the most beautiful theater in America. It first featured stage attractions. Shoppers in the Brandeis Dept. Store could take a tunnel under 17th street, hop on an elevator and arrive in the theater lobby for a show. It had a second balcony with a separate entrance on Douglas and a lobby dazzling with large mirrors, paintings, and fireplaces. A ceiling mural entitled The Triumphal Entry of Art, by E.T. Behr alone cost $2,500. It was later the RKO Brandeis movie theatre. In 1959 the Brandeis Parking Garage replaced the theatre on the site. Source: Omaha Public Library History Clipping File- Theaters; Becker, H. W. Omaha: A Century in Photos - Digging into Theatre Lore. Omaha Sun Newspaper 5 January 1967.
Omaha Public Library
