It's official: Milwaukee's Oriental Theatre is on the National Register of Historic Places

The Oriental Theatre, the nearly 96-year-old movie palace at 2230 N. Farwell Ave. on Milwaukee's east side, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Landing on the list was one of the objectives that Milwaukee Film, the nonprofit organization that runs the Milwaukee Film Festival, had in mind when it signed a long-term lease to take over operations of the Oriental in 2017. In fact, the organization began the process before it took over the theater in July 2018.

Since then, Milwaukee Film, backed by a $10 million-plus capital campaign, has worked to restore the 1927 movie palace, replacing seats and carpeting, improving sightlines and sound quality, and reviving seating in the balcony. Added were more first-floor restrooms, an expanded concession stand and other improvements in the theater's lobby.

Milwaukee movie theater operators John and Thomas Saxe built the Oriental Theatre in 1927 for $1.5 million. The 2,310-seat theater — one of five neighborhood movie palaces the Saxes built in the city in the late 1920s, and the last one still operating as a movie theater — was converted to a three-screen venue in 1988 but has generally retained its original character since.

The theater was added to Wisconsin's State Register of Historic Places in March 2022.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee's Oriental Theatre joins National Register of Historic Places