Jefferson Theatre
116 W. Jefferson Boulevard,
Fort Wayne,
IN
46802
116 W. Jefferson Boulevard,
Fort Wayne,
IN
46802
1 person
favorited this theater
Contributed by
Ken McIntyre
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater
Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
Here is a 1947 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/yz9bo5
Film Daily Yearbooks;1941 and 1943 editions, give the seating capacity as 1,298. In the F.D.Y. 1950 edition it is listed with a seating capacity of 1,100.
This is a 1951 photo of the Jefferson Theater.
A Kimball theater organ was installed in a Jefferson Theater in Fort Wayne in 1922.
The Jefferson was part of Alliance Amusement Co. in the early sixties. This chain, headquartered in Chicago, operated numerous theaters in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Washington. In Fort Wayne alone, Alliance ran the Jefferson, Embassy, Lincolndale Drive-In, East 30 Drive-In, Ft. Wayne Drive-In and Northcrest Drive-In. President of Alliance in 1963 was S.J. Gregory.
Most of the Alliance properties went to Cinecom, then through a legal settlement to Sportservice Theaters. Sportservice sold all their theaters in the 80’s. I do not know if any of their drive ins survived, notable loss Miles in Cleveland, OH. Beautiful Paramount and State Theaters in Anderson still survive.
From 1940, a photo ad announcing the re-opening of the Jefferson Theatre after having been remodeled.
The Jefferson was across the street from the Embassy, more or less. The even side of the block is now taken by a Hilton hotel.
The Jefferson Theatre was open from 1912-1978.
Here is a 1927 photo of the Jefferson Theatre.