Indiana Theater
419 East Main Street,
Washington,
IN
47501
419 East Main Street,
Washington,
IN
47501
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The Indiana Theater dates back to at least 1897 when it operated as the Opera House.
Contributed by
Lost Memory
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Recent comments (view all 13 comments)
A more recent photo can be seen here.
This is a circa 1972 photo.
Here are two 1985 photos:
Photo1
Photo2
Would this theater have been called the “Opera House” in the 1910s? I have a postcard advertising films at the Washington, Indiana Opera House from 1913.
You can see both sides of this postcard at [url]http://www.silentfilmstillarchive.com/washington_opera_house_1915.htm[/url].
The architectural style of the Indiana looks more 1920s than 1910s. A town as small as Washington probably wouldn’t have had a movie theater as large as the Indiana built as early as 1913. My guess would be that the Indiana Theatre was built in the 1920s, and most likely in 1926, when the organ was installed.
In Julius Cahn’s Theatrical Guide of 1897, the earliest edition available to me, there is a listing for an Opera House in Washington, managed by Horrall Bros., who are still listed as operators in the 1899-1900 edition. In the 1904-1905 and 1906-1907 editions the Opera House was listed as managed by Frank Green. Cahn lists the Opera House as a second-floor theater, and the Indiana looks like a ground floor theater, which is further indication that they were probably not the same house.
The 1893 issue of the entertainment trade journal The New York Clipper listed a house called Wise’s Family Theatre, which had been opened at Washington, Indiana, on November 14, 1892. It seems fairly likely that Wise’s Family Theatre, the Opera House of Cahn’s guides, and Palmer Bros. Grand on the postcard with the 1913 postmark, were all the same theater, and that it had changed operators several times.
Washington had a movie house called the Theatorium which was mentioned in the December 13, 1913, issue of The Moving Picture World. I doubt that it became the Indiana Theatre either, but it is possible that the Theatorium was the Opera House, which could have been renamed sometime after the postcard above was printed, though it’s also quite possible that the Theatorium was an entirely different theater. Addresses would have to be found for both names to know for sure.
Given that the postcard ad shows the Opera House operating as a movie and vaudeville theater, and given that it was almost certainly not the Indiana Theater, I think it would be reasonable to give it a listing at Cinema Treasures.
Also, Kerasotes' web site doesn’t list any showdates for this theater. Has it been closed?
Joe Vogel,
Since Kerasotes sold most of their theaters to AMC. This theater is most likely either owned by AMC now or could easily had been closed by AMC as AMC has closed many of the Kerasotes theaters that they had purchase.
Doing some checking online, Washington Theater did become an AMC Theater,AMC 2. Though it was not listed on the AMC Theater website when I check for theater locations a few minutes ago. Most likely AMC closed this theater when they were closing many of the former Kerasotes theaters that they had purchase. If this theater is open, it is being operated by an independent or another chain. I couldn’t find movie times for this theater. So it could be closed.
I contacted someone at the Daviess County Historical Society, and they confirmed that the Indiana Theater was originally the Opera House. Obviously it was a performing arts theater before being a silent film theater. Unfortunately, AMC has recently closed it.
If you go to the Daviess County Historical Society Facebook page, they have several photos of the theater through the years.
Here’s your answer: View link
AMC closed it around Christmas. There is a local movement to get it opened again, though. But for now, the marquee is blank and the entry boarded. Good luck to them!
Sounds like AMC closed this theater about the same time they closed several other former Kerasotes theaters. I wonder if AMC on purpose didn’t do repairs to the building as they had already planned on closing this theater. So this would give them a different excuse for closing this theater, from the excuse they used on closing many of the other former Kerasotes Theaters they had bought. The Will Rogers Theater @ Charleston, Illinois wasn’t kept up by AMC & became in poor shape before it was closed by AMC. Not sure why AMC bought so many Kerasotes Theater to only closed them a few months after opearting them. Wonder who & where the next former Kerasotes Theater will be closed by AMC ?