Town Theatre
8616 Kennedy Avenue,
Highland,
IN
46323
8616 Kennedy Avenue,
Highland,
IN
46323
4 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Styles: Streamline Moderne
Nearby Theaters
-
Hammond Twin Outdoor Theatre
-
Highland Cinema
-
Ridge Road Drive-In
-
Griffith Park Cinema I-II
-
Kennedy Theatre
News About This Theater
- Sep 23, 2014 — Inside the fight to save the Town
- Aug 25, 2013 — The show will go on at the Town Theatre
The Town Theatre was opened July 20, 1946 and remained a single screen movie house until its closing in 2008. A small Mom & Pop theatre showing foreign and independent films, the Town Theatre was known for its intermissions where they often served free cake and coffee. The long-term owners had to deal with family illness, which led to its closure.
In 2012 it was taken over by the city for non payment of back taxes. In September 2014, a public meeting was held to debate the future of the theatre with hopes of restoration and reopening the building. In November 2017 it was announced the theatre would be demolished December 12, 2017, but this was briefly postponed and demolition occured on January 11, 2018.
Contributed by
Ted
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Recent comments (view all 26 comments)
Good news…Town Theatre to re-open…
http://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/the-show-will-go-on-at-the-town-theatre/article_69aea7bf-6b5d-592f-a8f6-52e86338de53.html
Has there been any progress?
I drive by there every so often. The last time was about two weeks ago. It doesn’t look like anything is going on. The marquee on one side has been stripped to almost nothing thanks to last winter’s brutal weather combined with age. I hope they do get the theater back up and running but I imagine because of the years of inactivity a ton of repairs will need to be done. Plus the fact they will have to convert to digital as well. It will be costly but I think the Town can be a viable theater again.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Kate Jacobs Marketing and Public Relations Director Pathway to Adventure Council, BSA (847) 271-7906 | LOCAL TEENS INVITED TO HELP ADVANCE THE ‘TOWN THEATRE’ PROJECT Highland, Ind. (May 4, 2016) —Young men and women ages 14-20 are invited to go behind the scenes to help the Town Theatre restoration project become a reality and gain valuable knowledge in a variety of career fields. Participants will join the newly established Town Theatre Exploring Post – part of the nationwide Exploring program that offers young men and women the chance to discover their futures through hands-on experience and mentorship from industry professionals. Focus areas will include architecture, engineering, marketing, publicity, volunteer management, filmmaking, history, archiving and entertainment. “This is your chance to help make the theatre your own, to be sure the theatre is serving everyone, including the youth of our community,” said Town Theater Board President Dawn Diamantopoulos. The Town Theatre is a beloved local cinema building that opened in 1946 and served its community for generations. Unfortunately, the theater deteriorated after it was closed by private owners in 2008. Now, the Town Theatre has become a municipally owned and funded redevelopment project in its first phase of redevelopment. Exploring Post participants will serve as the youth outreach and advisory group for the project through its phases of design, fundraising, construction and programming. “We are excited to help build an Exploring program where young people who want to help bring the Town Theatre back to life may have an outlet for their interests and enthusiasm,” said Cecile Petro, director of redevelopment for the Town of Highland. “This is once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see what it takes to renovate a theatre and what it can mean to the spirit and livelihood of our community is happening right now. It is a great way for young people to learn about real-world challenges,” Petro said. Young men and women age 14-20 who are interested in getting involved should attend an open house at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 11 at the Highland Town Hall, 3333 Ridge Road. Questions regarding the open house or the Exploring program should be directed to Exploring Director Andy Pierce at (630) 796-4221 or Begun in 1935, Exploring is an affiliate program of the Boy Scouts of America. Exploring seeks to provide positive and meaningful real-world career experiences and leadership development opportunities for all teenagers and young adults in their chosen field of interest. For more information, please visit www.exploring.org.
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-highland-town-decision-st-0201-20170131-story.html
This opened on July 20th, 1946. Grand opening ad in the photo section.
Town Theatre to be demolished December 12th 2017.
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/the-final-act-highland-s-historic-town-theatre-to-be/article_d420ce07-792d-51f8-8f0a-a7138c5860e8.html
Here is video of the Town Theatre shortly before its demolition.
I have photos of the building the night before it was torn down as well as some bricks from then that are in my garage, I’m a part of the video that Joe shared.
5 demolition photos added credit Noran Warot.