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 5 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.
During Universal Pictures short lived theatre chain attempt they must have been partial to atmospheric design, becuase their Venetian theatres in Racine and Milwaukee, WI, were both sky jobs.