Major renovations being made to 110-year-old Prytania Theatre

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Part of the appeal of the Uptown New Orleans Prytania Theatre is its old-time feel. The owners are making necessary upgrades while preserving its historic charm.

The Prytania Theatre has been around for 110 years, and it is the only single screen movie theater in Louisiana.

For a century, The Prytania Theatre’s been bringing the cinematic experience to movie-goers and that’s not changing.

“It was time to upgrade, but not modernize the theater,” owner of Prytania Theatre Robert Brunet said.

The Brunet family has owned this gem for decades.

“I was taught by my father, who was taught by his father, and our goal is to keep the classic Hollywood feel in the theater,” he said.

First, you’ll notice their seating upgrades.

“It has the same seating as Saenger Theatre, it was designed by a seating company from the 1920s,” Brunet said.

Plus, the big screen’s seeing improvements.

“The picture is clear. The lighting is even and there’s no hot spots on the screen,” he said.

You’ll even hear the tremendous difference coming from their state-of-the-art sound system.

“The speakers are Dolby Atmos. We have 55 speakers throughout the theater, with 400-thousand watts of power,” he said.

They’ve also added new flooring, an air filtration system, luxury seating and a new bar.

“It’s called ‘The Overlook Lounge’ based on the Overlook Hotel from the film, ‘The Shining,'” Brunet said.

Old-time Hollywood feels new again in Hollywood South.

“The place looks brand new, but at the same time it looks 100-years-old. I want people when they walk through the doors to feel like it’s a time portal to the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, the heyday of Hollywood,” Brunet said.

The Prytania Theatre is one of 40 theaters in the United States to be showing films on 70mm projectors, and one of 68 theaters in the world.

The Prytania Theatre will also throw a special Oscars watching party on Sunday, March 10.

Latest Posts