| The Saenger Theatre is the only surviving local example of the great Art Deco movie palaces of the 1920s and '30s, and is one of only four existing Art Deco buildings in the Hattiesburg area. The most notable motion picture theater ever built in the vicinity, the building was designed by New Orleans architect Emil Weil, whose original plans have been obtained from prior owners by the City of Hattiesburg. . The building was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 29 May 1979. It was listed in 1981 as a contributing element (element #30) in the Hattiesburg Hub City Historic District, and it was later included as element #2 in the enlarged Hub City Historic District (Boundary Increase II), which was placed on the National Register on 9 November 2012. It was designated a Mississippi Landmark on 11 October 1985. It is included in "Buildings of Mississippi" (2020) (p. 316, PW27). |