The historic Arcade Theater in downtown Lake Charles — where John and Ethel Barrymore, Harry Houdini and  George and Ira Gershwin once graced the stage — was destroyed by fire on Thanksgiving Day Nov. 28, 1985.

Built in 1910, the building had been vacant and was awaiting restoration when it was engulfed in flames. The fire — started by transients who used bug spray and lighter fluid to ignite several small fires throughout the building to stay warm — took nearly two hours to extinguish.

Lake Charles Police Capt. Frank Landry told the American Press for its Nov. 29, 1985, edition that he had been driving near Broad Street and Enterprise Boulevard when he received a report of possible smoke near the Arcade, which was located in the 800 block of Ryan Street.

He said the flames were already shooting up when he and another unit arrived.

“Billowing flames leapt 50 feet into the night sky as firefighters successfully struggled to keep the fire from spreading to a bank building next door.”

A snorkel unit was used to shower the hot embers down, the paper reported, and the fire was extinguished by 10:30 p.m.

“The theater’s back brick wall collapsed shortly before 10 p.m.,” the newspaper reads. “Making a loud cracking noise, the falling bricks and debris landed all around a nearby fire truck, but there was no damage to the unit.”

It was the second fire in one day at the structure, which had been added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Firefighters had been called to the Arcade that afternoon to respond to a small fire that was started on the stage. That fire was doused by 4:01 p.m., the paper reads.

“We believe they were trying to keep warm,” Lake Charles Fire Chief Algie Breaux told the American Press. “It’s arson, but not malicious arson. The buildings are good and sound, but they’re vacant. The vagrants are going to find a place to keep warm.”

Breaux said six Lake Charles trucks worked to combat the second fire, along with three mutual aid fire trucks. Trucks from Sulphur, Westlake and Moss Bluff were also brought in to assist.

The building was in the process of being restored by the Calcasieu Preservation Society, which had already spent $135,000 retiring the mortgage on the building, paying architects for feasibility studies and repairing the roof.

When it opened on Sept. 26, 1910, it was described as “one of the most handsome opera houses in the street.”

But by Nov. 30, 1925, the building suffered heavy damage when a fire raged through portions of the facility. The fire, which began next door at the Palace Grocery, killed three men — including a firefighter — when a wall fell on them.

By 1965 the building was in such disrepair that it had to be closed down.

Sgt. Robert Martin told the American Press for its Nov. 30, 1985, issue that police officers regularly monitor downtown areas where active businesses are located. “But to locate transients in empty buildings, officers would have to park their units in the dark, seek out any entry point in the backs of buildings, then make their way through a maze of litter by flashlight. In terms of time and manpower, that sort of action would literally strap the entire department and leave active businesses unguarded.”

All was not lost from the fire, however.

On June 3, 1990, ground was broken for the construction of The Arcade Theater Memorial Pavilion on the lakefront. The outdoor performance center was ultimately built incorporating the original bricks from the Arcade Theater.

Funds for the construction of the new pavilion were provided by The Arcade Foundation and the H.C. Drew Trust. Upon completion in October of that year, the pavilion was donated to the city of Lake Charles.

In December of 2024, the city announced that the site of the pavilion will be used for a new lakefront hotel and conference center. Mayor Nic Hunter told the American Press during the announcement that the city hopes to purchase the property that was the site of the now-demolished Capital One Tower to build a new amphitheater that can host 3,500. The Lakefront Amphitheater project was included in the LC Rebound bond proposal passed by voters in 2023.