The Pabst Theater is an indoor performance and concert venue and landmark of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Colloquially known as "the Pabst", the theater hosts about 100 events per year.
- Venue
- Pabst Theater
- Address
- 144 E. Wells Street, Milwaukee, WI 53202
- Town
- Milwaukee, US
- Capacity
- 1,339
The Pabst Theater is an indoor performance and concert venue and landmark of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Colloquially known as "the Pabst", the theater hosts about 100 events per year. Built in 1895, it is the fourth-oldest continuously operating theater in the United States, and has presented such notables as pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff, actor Laurence Olivier, and ballerina Anna Pavlova, as well as various current big-name musical acts. The Pabst is known for its opulence as well as its role in German-American culture in Milwaukee. It is officially designated a City of Milwaukee Landmark and a State of Wisconsin Historical Site, and was also designated a National Historic Landmark in 1991. It is sometimes called the "Grande Olde Lady", being the oldest theater in Milwaukee's theater district. The Pabst is a traditional proscenium stage theater with two balconies, for a total capacity of 1,300 people. It hosts approximately 100 events per year, including music, comedy, dance, opera, and theater events. The theater also has a hydraulic orchestra pit, adding to its suitability for virtually any performing arts event. The auditorium itself is drum-shaped and is decorated in reds and maroons with gold and silver accents. A large, 2-ton Austrian crystal chandelier hangs over the auditorium. The theater also boasts a staircase crafted from white Italian Carrara marble and a proscenium arch highlighted in gold leaf, which frames the stage. The theater features a historic organ, which once provided accompaniment for silent films. The instrument is a 4 manuals; 20 ranks opus of M.P. Moller. Brewer Frederick Pabst purchased the Nunnemacher Grand Opera House in 1890 from Jacob Nunnemacher and his son, Hermann, and renamed it Das Neue Deutsche Stadt-Theater (The New German City Theater). The structure was damaged by arson in 1893, and subsequently completely destroyed by fire in January 1895. Pabst ordered it rebuilt at once, and it reopened as The Pabst Theater later