theater

Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Ads: Burlesque at Empire

Name of Business: The Empire Theater Date of Ad: April 13, 1913 Date Established: 1892 Neighborhood: Downtown Notable: Promising a bevy of pretty and sprightly girls, the star attraction, Zallah, featured her own company. A...

Posted in: Historic Miscellania Architect for Theaters

It would be fair to say many an architect or architectural firm gets known for designing a predominant genre of building, and that appears to have been the case since the earliest days the trade...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: At the Drive-in

This ticket advertises a free pass for the driver at the Shadeland Drive-in. (Image: eBay) For those who grew up in between the 1950s and 1980s, a summertime rite of passage always included a few...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: From Films to Film Festivals

A 1940s view looking northwest on Virginia Avenue shows this recognizable building as the Granada Theatre. (Image: W. H. Bass Photo Company Collection courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society) With spring approaching, many are looking...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Post Christmas Movies

The exterior when the building was known as the Loew’s State in the 1920’s. The storefront to the south of the main entrance is Brosnan’s, which specialized in outfitting women’s fashion. (Image: Bass Photo Co....

Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Dancing on the Roof

The back side of this 1943 postmarked postcard reads “I am dancing at the Indiana Roof, beautiful combination Night Club and Ballroom, where Indianapolis dances every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.” (Image: eBay) The Indiana...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: Theater Under the Stars

Butler students clowning around on the stage of the newly completed Brown Theater in 1955. (Image: Butler University) Life just seems better outdoors. During summer months, it is always enjoyable to eat dinner on one...

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Posted in: At Your Leisure At Your Leisure: At the Movies

Cinema has always been an important aspect to leisure time activities in the Circle City. Throughout the years, the art form has morphed from opulent downtown movie palaces to the drive-in theaters of the 50’s...

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Posted in: Historic Miscellania B. F. Keith’s Grand Opera House

A closed Keith’s Theater advertises “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World” at the nearby Indiana Theater Today, scaffolding surrounds the Consolidated Building at 115 North Pennsylvania Street in downtown Indianapolis as TWG Development, LLC...

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Posted in: Historic Miscellania Metropolitan Hall: Indianapolis’ First Theatre

While the Hilbert Circle Theatre and the Indiana Repertory Theatre are the last remaining structures of what was once a vast network of downtown theaters, neither can boast as having been the city’s first. That distinction...

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Posted in: Historic Miscellania The Lyric Theater

Just as the popularity of Netflix and Redboxes have yielded thousands of vacant storefronts across the county once occupied by Blockbuster Video stores, television’s popularity led to the near extinction of the double purpose stage/movie...

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Posted in: Sunday Prayers Sunday Prayers: Rivoli Theatre

Downtown Indianapolis. Noon. At most tables, the lunchtime chatter was of clients, projects and “the kids.” But at our table—which was crowded with soup, a sandwich and notebooks—there was talk of an empty, dilapidated property....

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Posted in: Family Tree Family Tree: Thespian Roots

This weekend I will be performing in a production of Little Shop of Horrors at The Belfry Theater in Noblesville, and it has led me to consider Indianapolis’ theatrical past. Theater has a long history...

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Posted in: Sunday Ads Sunday Adverts: Madame Walker Manufacturing, 1963

From a 1963 newspaper, an advert for the Madame C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company, featuring a photo of the theatre her company built in the late 1920’s. The theatre officially opened December 26, 1927 and...

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Posted in: A Room with a View Room With a View: Indiana Avenue to Walker Theatre

Here’s a snap from New Orleans on the Avenue, former home of Zing and many other businesses over the years. The Walker Theatre is celebrating its 85th birthday right now with a series of fun...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Rivoli Theater- 3155 E. Tenth Street

With all of the attention focused on the near eastside during the Super Bowl Legacy Project, one building is near the top of everyone’s list of restoration: the Rivoli Theater at 3155 E. Tenth Street....

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Posted in: Indianapolis Collected Indianapolis Collected: Comedy, beer and clog-dancing acrobats

The English Opera House opened to accolades on September 27, 1880, with famed Shakespearean actor Lawrence Barrett appearing in the role of Hamlet. But enough about the theater. Today’s article is about The Theatre –...

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Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Talbott Theatre 2143 N. Talbott Street

The Talbott Theater has housed a variety of entertainment venues at 2143 N. Talbott Street since the mid-1920s. The building was designed by architect George V. Bedell and opened as a 1,042-seat silent movie theater....

19 Comments

Posted in: Then & Now Indianapolis Then and Now: Ritz Theatre 3430 N. Illinois Street

Sometimes these “then and now” columns get frustrating. When I discover a great old photograph of an unknown building, I check out the location on old maps and in aerial photos, then search the address...

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Posted in: Historic Miscellania News: January 4, 1910–Death at the Murat yesterday

Have you ever contemplated the whole story of the buildings you admire? Sure, you wonder when something was built, who desgined it and attempt to identify the style without reference books. But how often do...

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