Murphy Art Centre
1043 Virginia Avenue,
Indianapolis,
IN
46203
1043 Virginia Avenue,
Indianapolis,
IN
46203
3 people
favorited this theater
Opened on April 8, 1928, the Granada Theatre, in the heart of Indianapolis' Fountain Square neighborhood. It was built for the Universal Pictures chain.
It featured a facade of reddish-orange brick trimmed in cream-colored terra cotta in austere Neo-Classical style, with a trio of arched windows above the main entrance.
It was the first theater in Indianapolis to screen a foreign sound film, “Tierra Madre”, in 1932.
The Granada Theatre was closed as a movie house on March 11, 1951, and was taken over by the G.C. Murphy Company soon afterwards.
After the Murphy Company closed, the building sat vacant for a while before being acquired by a group of artisans in the 1990’s, who were seeking a place to set up their galleries after moving from the south side of the city.
Since then, the Murphy Art Centre, as the one-time theater is now called, has become a home for both art galleries and retail stores, a thriving example of urban reuse in a once dying area of Indianapolis.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
The Architect for the Granada Theatre was Donald Graham. The theatre also had a Wurlitzer Organ. Mr. R. Lederman was the construction engineer who worked for the Universal Chain Theatrical Enterprises, Inc.
A Wurlitzer theater organ opus 1837 style “E” was installed in the Granada Theater on 3/11/1928. Status: sold.
Check out http://www.fountainsquareindy.com/
This building is in the center of a historic area near downtown Indianapolis.
A film organization is moving into the former Granada Theater building now known as the Murphy Arts Center and will build a small screening roon within the facility: View link.