#urbanexploration #abandonedplaces #newbedford Join Rick and Dev as they travel to New Bedford, MA to explore the abandoned Orpheum Theatre. April 15, 1912. While the world was reeling from the news of the Titanic sinking in the North Atlantic, the citizens of New Bedford, Massachusetts, were gathered for a different kind of milestone. Opening night at the Orpheum. This isn’t merely another theater. It was the "Sharpshooters Hall," the grand headquarters for Le Club des Francs-Tireurs. They were a paternal organization dedicated to military drills, brass bands, and competitive marksmanship. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a shooting range. The hall was like a small city of its own. It featured a shooting range in the basement, a gymnasium, a grand ballroom, and a massive 1,500-seat Vaudeville theater. As the second-oldest Orpheum in the country, its stage saw the impossible: Harry Houdini’s escapes, the comedic chaos of the Marx Brothers, and the elegance of Lily Langtry. When the world went to war in the 1940s, the building’s dual nature became its greatest asset. Upstairs, patrons escaped the grim reality of the newsreels with screenings of King Kong and Citizen Kane. Downstairs, in the hidden shooting range, soldiers were being trained for WW2. By the 1950s, the crowds had thinned. In 1962, the Sharpshooters Club finally sold their headquarters. For a while, the auditorium was used for the mundane—as a tobacco warehouse and a local market. Music by Rob Byrd. Intro music by Rob Elliot. Sources: https://rhodetour.org/items/show/82