Grand Theatre
29 N. Seventh Street,
Terre Haute,
IN
47807
29 N. Seventh Street,
Terre Haute,
IN
47807
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Opened in November 1897, the Grand Opera House was located on Seventh Street at Cherry Street. It was meant to replace the earlier Naylor Opera House, which was destroyed in a fire in 1896. The Grand originally seated over 1300, and besides opera, hosted plays, minstrel shows, and local religious and political gatherings.
Among those to appear onstage here included John Phillip Sousa, Ethel Barrymore, Lillian Russell, Al Jolson, and George M. Cohan. At the time, Terre Haute was known as the “entertainment hub” of western Indiana.
By the early 30s, when movies replaced live entertainment there, the Grand Opera House became known as the Grand Theatre. In 1959 the theater closed, and after a farewell banquet was held in the Grand, the building was torn down in August, 1960.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
unless there was two Grand Theatres in Terre Haute, the address shown for this Grand Theare is incorrect. I grew up watching movies at the Grand Theatre on Wabash Avenue. I was born the last part of 1950.
Apparently there were two Grand theaters. The Vigo County Public Library mentions the following:
“In the early 1930s, the Grand Opera House’s name changed to the Grand Theatre. (This is not to be confused with the more recent Grand Theater located at 8th and Wabash.) During this time, the theater’s focus shifted from live entertainment to a movie house”.
Also from the Vigo County Public Library, the Grand Opera House in Terre Haute was designed by the architectural firm of Floyd and Stone.
LM, I think the Grand Theatre that was located at 8th and Wabash later became known as the American Theatre located at 8th & Wabash (817 Wabash)