One of the earliest examples of movie theater architecture, the Orpheum is an early design by the prolific architectural firm Rapp and Rapp, a firm that would later design many famous American "Movie Palaces" in the first decades of the twentieth century.

[3] The following year, they designed the Al. Ringling Theatre in Baraboo, Wisconsin, which was also a model of the Versailles opera house.

Mayor Oliver B. Dobbins gave a short speech complimenting the management for its elaborate and expensive effort to provide such an elegant theatre.

Five high class vaudeville acts were presented, headlined by singer and comedian Herman Timberg, who had appeared a few weeks earlier at Chicago's Palace Theater.

It played host to many famous vaudevillians, including Trixie Friganza, Red Skelton, Harry Houdini (1923), Chic Sale, Virginia Sale, Will Rogers (1915), the Marx Brothers (1918), Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (1921), Jack Benny (1922), Bob Hope (1928), and Burns & Allen (1929).

A few of the now classic films shown during the Orpheum's long history include Birth of A Nation (1916), Intolerance (1917), City Lights (1931), Gone With the Wind (1940 & 1968), Dumbo (1941), A Streetcar Named Desire (1952), Mister Roberts (1955), and A Hard Day's Night (1964).

Under the management of RKO, the theater was increasingly devoted to the screening of films, rather than to live performance in the vaudeville tradition.

In 1967 a major renovation created a modern appearance by adding an aluminum facade and redoing the lobby.

[2] The Champaign Preservation and Conservation Association (PACA) sponsored a public meeting on April 8, 1989, in response to plans to raze the now closed and deteriorating theater.

The City of Champaign purchased the Orpheum and adjacent building as a site for a possible parking deck in January 1990.

The city allowed 45 PACA volunteers to spend Saturday, July 7, 1990, removing the aluminum facade to reveal the original look of the building and to assess any damage.