I couldn’t get that link to work; I’ll try it again later on.
The comments on CinemaTour were mine :–) I’ve been all over trying to find info on the theatre since I have the organ from it. I do have some photos, but I can’t post them here. Maybe I could send them to you and verify that it is the same building.
Patrick, do you recall what color the interior was? Or about when it was demolished?
I’m still trying to find more information on this place, but it seems to be one of the theatres that has very little known about it. Even the THS has a limited mount of info about it. They did send me copies of a couple neat photos though. I would see about posting them here, but I don’t know where I could upload them to.
Anyone know what happened to the organ? I wonder if the pipes are still there. I have a Kilgen, Opus 3911 3/5 console from the Strand Theatre in Crawfordsville Indiana. The pipes are long gone…
Anyone have interior photos of this theatre from before it was chopped up?
Is there anything in the building that they will allow to be salvaged at least? I don’t understand how people can just throw stuff away like that, especially when you think of all the people who took a lot of pride in putting that place together.
But there will come a day when people realize what they are doing. But then they will probably still shrug it off as “progress”. What kind of world does everyone want to live in nowadays? Must be nice to have enough money to consider buildings disposable, even when some are only a few years old.
I believe the architect was Arthur Helbing of Chicago, and the Theatre was built in 1880 and rebuilt in 1919. The building measured 164ft x 81ft and was 51ft high with 2 stories.
It’s possible that the theatreorgans.com database is incorrect about the location, but more than likely, the organ was removed in the 30’s after the fall of silent movies. I’m going to try and do some more research. It was supposedly installed in 1927, so it probably didn’t stay around too long. Do you know if there is a website for the Crawfordsville Journal Review? I live in Michigan so it would be hard for me to stop in there any time soon.
I’ve also tried to get in touch with other people that live in or near Crawfordsville, but I haven’t had any luck. The photos I have of the theater are from the Theater Historical Society, and are black and white xerox copies. You can barely make out what looks like the organ, in front of the stage off to the left.
Mark, that’s great information. First piece of history I’ve heard so far. I’ve been really interested in the theatre since I acquired the organ console from there. For a while I was trying to locate some good pictures of the organ, so I knew what it should look like. It’s been modified and painted over the years, and I’m trying to restore it to original appearance.
I’m wondering who removed the organ from the building, and when. I also have no idea where the organ pipes went. Maybe down with the building? And I’m curious if the theater had been fixed up around 1959, because it appears the organ was rebuilt and possibly refinished to a greenish color around that time. Under one of the keys is stamped “O.E. Shuler Corp, 1959”. All these little bits of information really spark my interest and curiosity.
Wow, that must have been taken in it’s final years of operation. Great to see it in color though!
Here’s the interior in the 1920’s.
View link
I have some other pictures, but they are from the Theatre Historical Society, so I don’t think I can post those.
Hi Patrick,
I couldn’t get that link to work; I’ll try it again later on.
The comments on CinemaTour were mine :–) I’ve been all over trying to find info on the theatre since I have the organ from it. I do have some photos, but I can’t post them here. Maybe I could send them to you and verify that it is the same building.
Please let me know if you find any more info.
Thanks,
Aaron
Patrick, do you recall what color the interior was? Or about when it was demolished?
I’m still trying to find more information on this place, but it seems to be one of the theatres that has very little known about it. Even the THS has a limited mount of info about it. They did send me copies of a couple neat photos though. I would see about posting them here, but I don’t know where I could upload them to.
Anyone know what happened to the organ? I wonder if the pipes are still there. I have a Kilgen, Opus 3911 3/5 console from the Strand Theatre in Crawfordsville Indiana. The pipes are long gone…
Anyone have interior photos of this theatre from before it was chopped up?
Is there anything in the building that they will allow to be salvaged at least? I don’t understand how people can just throw stuff away like that, especially when you think of all the people who took a lot of pride in putting that place together.
But there will come a day when people realize what they are doing. But then they will probably still shrug it off as “progress”. What kind of world does everyone want to live in nowadays? Must be nice to have enough money to consider buildings disposable, even when some are only a few years old.
I believe the architect was Arthur Helbing of Chicago, and the Theatre was built in 1880 and rebuilt in 1919. The building measured 164ft x 81ft and was 51ft high with 2 stories.
It’s possible that the theatreorgans.com database is incorrect about the location, but more than likely, the organ was removed in the 30’s after the fall of silent movies. I’m going to try and do some more research. It was supposedly installed in 1927, so it probably didn’t stay around too long. Do you know if there is a website for the Crawfordsville Journal Review? I live in Michigan so it would be hard for me to stop in there any time soon.
I’ve also tried to get in touch with other people that live in or near Crawfordsville, but I haven’t had any luck. The photos I have of the theater are from the Theater Historical Society, and are black and white xerox copies. You can barely make out what looks like the organ, in front of the stage off to the left.
Mark, that’s great information. First piece of history I’ve heard so far. I’ve been really interested in the theatre since I acquired the organ console from there. For a while I was trying to locate some good pictures of the organ, so I knew what it should look like. It’s been modified and painted over the years, and I’m trying to restore it to original appearance.
I’m wondering who removed the organ from the building, and when. I also have no idea where the organ pipes went. Maybe down with the building? And I’m curious if the theater had been fixed up around 1959, because it appears the organ was rebuilt and possibly refinished to a greenish color around that time. Under one of the keys is stamped “O.E. Shuler Corp, 1959”. All these little bits of information really spark my interest and curiosity.