Wells Theatre
1441 N. Wells Street,
Fort Wayne,
IN
46808
1441 N. Wells Street,
Fort Wayne,
IN
46808
1 person
favorited this theater
The Wells Theatre opened April 10, 1917, with seating listed at 275. It was remodeled in 1920. The theatre was owned and operated by the Mallers Brothers.
The Wells Theatre closed in 1959. By 2016 it was in use as office space for Koehlinger Kruse.
Contributed by
Chuck
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Recent comments (view all 8 comments)
The Wells Theatre building was not demolished. It now has the address 1441 N. Wells Street and is occupied by Koehlinger Kruse Security.
I photographed the building as part of a survey of Wells Street for my web site, and thought it looked like a former theatre. I asked Don Orban, Historic Preservation Planner for the City of Fort Wayne, and he sent me this response:
“Your guess is correct…the Koehlinger Kruse bldg was indeed the Wells Street Theater…see attached photo. Cinema Treasures is incorrect. The old Sanborn maps show the building as having addresses 1433, 35, & 37 (theater entrance in the middle and small storefronts on each side). Not sure how KK got the 1441 address but those seem to be subject to change over the years for a variety of reasons.”
The building stands at the southwest corner of Wells and Fourth Streets. You may see the photo that I took on April 12, 2010 here; it’s the tan brick building on the right:
Former Wells Theatre, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Thanks Robert.
The Wells Theatre is listed in a Fort Wayne telephone directory published in December, 1924.
i was an usher at wells theater est.17 years old . 1944. borkinstein heating plumming owner. installed air conditioner at that time..10 cent tickets seating sloped down to the screen. later i ushered at the palace down town.
A house called the Palace Theatre is listed at 4th and Wells Streets in Fort Wayne in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory. Details being unavailable, I don’t know if this was the same house later called the Wells Theatre.
A second house called the Palace Theatre opened in downtown Fort Wayne in January, 1915. The 1916 Polk Directory lists both the “Palace, cor 4th and Wells” and the “Palace Theatre (New), Washington blvd E.”
Hree’s something from the April 3, 1920 issue of Moving Picture World:
The building is currently listed for sale on LoopNet for a consideration quite a bit larger than $20,000.Opened or first mentioned on April 10th, 1917 and closed in 1959.
Does anyone know what this building was prior to the theater opening in 1917? The building records show that it was “built” in 1900. However, IN only goes back to 1900, so it was probably built prior to that.