Duluths’ NorShore Theatre is Reopening

There’s some exciting news brewing on Minnesota’s North Shore, and it’s something we can’t wait to share with our guests at the A.G. Thomson House Bed and Breakfast!  Duluth’s historic NorShor Theatre is reopening!  It’s an exciting development for Duluth’s Arts and Theater District, which features a broad array of historic mainstays in the Duluth community.  Current residents in this district include the Fitger’s complex, Tycoons, Zeitgeist Arts, the Temple Opera building, Greysolon Plaza, the Technology Village building, Carmody Irish Pub, the Electric Fetus, the Sheraton, the Pickwick, the Wieland Block, the Duluth Trading Co., Coney Island and the Fannie Rose Building.  The fully resotred NorShor Theatre will be a great addition to the historic downtown core of Duluth, and will be a wonderful addition to our already-long list of attractions.  Book a room at our luxury Bed and Breakfast, and come share the reopening of the NorShor Theatre with us!

Duluth’s Historic NorShor Theatre

The NorShor Theatre is a landmark building in Duluth.  This incredible Art Deco theater first opened in 1910, after much tragedy beguiled the Duluth Grand Opera House, which was originally built in 1883. The original building sadly burned down in an 1889 fire, and wasn’t rebuilt.  The opera house was then moved to the Temple Opera Block at Superior Street and 2nd Ave. East, where it went through an interesting history as a joint Masonic Temple and Opera House, later to be combined with an ice skating rink.  After another devastating fire and a long span of vacancy, Duluth Businessman Guilford Hartley purchased the Temple Opera Block, and ultimately expanded the complex.

In 1910, Hartley opened The Orpheum, which remained Duluth’s premier vaudeville stage until 1925.  The Orpheum closed in 1925, only to be reborn once again as the NorShor Theatre in 1940 by converting the Vaudeville theater into a modern, art deco movie house.  It was an incredible building, and worth it just to walk through their grand 2nd Avenue entrance.  Over the years, the NorShor Theatre went through a series of owners, but it wasn’t until 2010 that the Theatre and the Temple Opera Block were purchased by the Duluth Economic Development Authority (DEDA) .  It’s now managed by the Duluth Playhouse, with the intent being to return the NorShor Theatre to life as a vibrant cultural center in Duluth.

The first show on the NorShor Theatre’s new stage will be Mamma Mia, premiering February 8-24, 2018, followed by Lend Me a Tenor, Our Town, and The Music Man.  Be sure to get your tickets to this incredible event early, then make your reservations at our luxury Inn, the A.G. Thomson House Bed and Breakfast.  We can’t wait to share this incredible piece of Duluth’s history with you!