Rivoli Theatre
3155 East 10th Street,
Indianapolis,
IN
46201
3155 East 10th Street,
Indianapolis,
IN
46201
7 people
favorited this theater
Built in 1927 under the auspices of Carl Laemmle Jr. of Universal Pictures Corporation and its movie theater division, Universal Chain Theatrical Enterprises Inc., and designed in Spanish Mission Revival style by architect and firm Henry Ziegler Dietz, the Rivoli Theatre was a modest 1,500-seat cinema venue on Indianapolis' east side.
Universal sold out their interest in the theater in 1937, and the theater changed hands several times until 1976 when acquired by its present owner.
The Rivoli Teatre still boasts the largest theater stage in all Indianapolis. It was also host to live music concerts in the 1970’s and 1980’s, and closed down in 1992, having been dormant for ten years.
The theater has been reputed to be haunted for many years.
The present owner has plans to restore and reopen the theater and is working with local preservationists to preserve and protect it.
Contributed by
Donald John Long
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 21 comments)
Here is a 2009 photo.
Here is a recent story from the Indianapolis Star:
http://tinyurl.com/ctk6p6
Nice article if you don’t mind sitting through an advertisement.
Thanks for the article, Lost Memory. I do hope they can do something with the place. In this economy, it’s more daunting than ever, but there’s always hope.
So sad that the interior was allowed to be so wrecked by the hole in the roof. I know lots of people find that unfathomable, but I once rented a house from a woman who let a big dead tree fall on the house and punch a hole in the roof. It went unrepaired for months!
Galoux
Oops. I meant thanks to Ken Mc. for the article, and thanks to Lost Memory for the recent pic.
Here are some 1985 photos:
Photo1
Photo2
Photo3
Photo4
Photo5
Back in the early 1970s, I went to the Rivoli for the first time. They were showing the 1927 silent film “Wings.” It was awesome because it had a live organ accompaniment. I am sad to see the state that it is now in; on the plus side, at least it is not demolished.
The manager who brought the film revival policy to the Rivoli in the 1970s was Thomas H. Ferree. Boxoffice Magazine of September 25, 1972, quoted excerpts from a recent Indianapolis News item about the Rivoli written by columnist David Mannweiler.
Ferree inaugurated the Rivoli’s classic film policy with Chaplin’s “City Lights,” which was to be followed by Olivier’s “Hamlet” and then a program of Busby Berkeley’s “Gold Diggers of 1935” and “Footlight Parade.”
Ferree also announced his intention to book some of the less commercially viable foreign films into the Rivoli, such fare having been unavailable in Indianapolis since the closing of the Esquire Theatre in 1969.
This is a link to a rather lengthly story on the Haunted Rivoli but it does give some detail on the theatre itself.
http://www.prairieghosts.com/rivoli.html
2010 photos of the Rivoli Theatre.
View link
View link
View link