Orpheum Theatre

You are approaching the Orpheum Theatre on Second Avenue, a structure with a past far more eclectic than its current marquee suggests. Long before it became a stage for legendary performances, the site was known to local patrons as Tinkle Tankle. This colorful name emerged at the turn of the twentieth century when the building operated as a rowdy beer garden and music hall serving the neighborhood's Eastern European immigrant population. The environment was vibrant enough to earn a rave review in the New York Times, which helped cement its reputation as a central gathering spot for the area.