This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Saenger Theatre, a beloved landmark in the heart of downtown Pensacola. Since its grand opening in 1925, the Saenger has experienced a lot of history.
Construction of the Saenger Theatre began in 1924 and was completed the following year at a cost of $500,000. Built on the site of the former Pensacola Opera House, which was heavily damaged by the hurricane of 1916, the Saenger used materials salvaged from the old structure, including bricks and wrought iron.
When the Saenger Theatre opened on April 2, 1925, it employed a very large staff. In celebration of its century of existence, Dean DeBolt, head of the University of West Florida Archives and the West Florida History Center uncovered little-known details about the theatre’s early years, including information about its very large staff.
“This required outfits and costumes," said DeBolt. "It's just the ultimate in entertainment. This is a movie palace.”
Employees included a doorman, cashiers, and porters. About a half dozen young women served as ushers and handed out programs. They had special costumes inspired by Pensacola’s naval history. The Saenger also had many employees behind the scenes, like housekeepers, projectionists, carpenters, electricians, musicians, including a pipe organist, and the Saenger even had its own mascot, a dog named Big Boy, that belonged to the manager.
Opening night featured Cecil B. DeMille’s silent film "The Ten Commandments,” and ticket prices ranged from $1.50 for the best seats to 50 cents for balcony seating.
“They also had porters helping people with their luggage back and forth from the train station,” said DeBolt. The porters were especially needed because the Saenger was part of the vaudeville circuit, which featured live performances. One show included a troupe of more than 100 performers.
Air conditioning was a luxury in those days, but in April 1930, the Saenger installed its first air conditioning system. The management “could change their wording in the paper from just simply saying ‘The Saenger’ to having snow and icicles emphasizing the fact that they were now a cool theater just in time for the hot summers of Pensacola,” said DeBolt.
The box office safe robbery
The Saenger Theatre has also seen its share of dramatic moments outside of the spotlight. In 1930, armed robbers hammered open the box office safe. They got away with only $40 because they could not penetrate the safe’s deepest part. If they had, they would have gotten away with “$2,400 in movie receipts from Saturday and Sunday nights. Given the price for tickets that shows that the theatre was doing very well,” DeBolt said.
The robbers were captured, but “they managed to escape the county jail by making ropes out of knotted sheets and climbing down the exterior of the building just like we see in the movies,” DeBolt continued. “There were three robbers, I think they caught two of them. They didn’t get their money back. I don’t know what happened to the money. I don’t think they recovered the $40.”
2025 celebrations
Fast-forward to 2025, and the Saenger Theatre is celebrating a century of excitement, entertainment, and memories. Stephanie Ellis, a longtime employee of the theatre, says that on the actual anniversary, the same film that was shown on opening night in 1925 will appear on the Saenger’s screen once again.
“There will be a showing of the original 'The Ten Commandments,'" said Ellis. “There will be a cake. On Sunday the sixth, they will show ‘The Phantom of the Opera,’ and of course, all the performances will feature the [pipe] organ. It’s free, you just have to come by the box office to get tickets. They will close off the streets on Sunday for a street fair. Everything’s free and open to the public.”
Click here to find out more about the anniversary celebrations.
