November 17, 1924

The Saenger Theatre, which was known as the “Showplace of the South,” opened in Pine Bluff (Jefferson County) and made the city an entertainment center for southeast Arkansas. The building, now one of only about 100 remaining of 300 theaters built by the Saenger brothers in the 1920s, cost $200,000 at the time and seated 1,500 people. On the front row of the Saenger at the opening were stars such as Gloria Swanson, Norma Talmadge, and producer D. W. Griffith, along with proprietor Julian Saenger. Al G. Fields Minstrels, Ziegfeld Follies, and other traveling theatrical groups performed at the Saenger Theatre. Roy Rogers, his horse Trigger, and Will Rogers were among the many notable performers who entertained there.