Glen Theater
20 W. Ridge Road,
Gary,
IN
46408
20 W. Ridge Road,
Gary,
IN
46408
1 person
favorited this theater
The Glen Theater sat just off the corner of Broadway Avenue on West Ridge Road in Gary. It’s opening attraction in 1968 was Disney’s “The Happiest Millionaire”. The theater was an instant success playing first run and revival films. Some weekends they would have kid shows in the mornings and action films for midnight shows. The Glen Theater most often played the first run Walt Dinsey films of the 1970’s. I can remember going to see “Sword in the Stone”, “The Apple Dumpling Gang”, “Herbie Rides Again”, and “One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing”.
Sometimes they would play first run action films that would show up at the area drive-ins. I can remember seeing “Race with the Devil” there. The Glen’s biggest attraction came relatively early in its life when they showed “Airport” for 10 weeks. In the mid-1970’s the Glen Theater started experimenting with X-rated films and by 1977 had gone to porno altogether. The theater closed in 1981 amid gang activity and violence in the area.
In 1983 a Bible group reopened the Glen Theater to show religous films such as “Ben-Hur” and “The Ten Commandments”. That failed miserably and the doors closed for good just a month later. The marquee said ‘Reopening Soon’ and stayed that way for almost twenty years.
The last time I drove by, the marquee was blank and a big sign on the boarded up door said the building was going to be renovated for a public theater sight for the future. The Glen Theater re-opened October 13, 2007 with a concert by Deniece Williams. It will be a live performace theatre catering mainly the the African-American population.
Contributed by
John
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 28 comments)
This is a 2009 photo.
Boxoffice Magazine of July 5, 1941, announced that V.U. Young had bought two lots at 20-26 Ridge Road in Glen Park and planned to build a theater there. The January 10, 1942, issue of Boxoffice said that the Ridge Theatre had recently been opened by V.U. Young’s Gary Theatre Corporation. The new house seated 714 and had been built at a cost of $70,000.
A few years later V.U. Young was head of the Y&W (Young and Wolf) Management Corporation, which at the time of Young’s death in 1948 was operating 27 theaters in Indiana. Y&W was headed by Vern Young in 1968 when, according to the July 1 issue of Boxoffice, the circuit reopened the Glen Theatre after a $50,000 remodeling. I’ve been unable to find any mention of either the Ridge or the Glen in Boxoffice between 1950 and 1968.
The earliest mention of the Roxy I’ve been able to find is an item in the January 27, 1945, issue of Boxoffice which names the operator as Jim Bikos. The only other mention I’ve found is in the February 18, 1956, issue which says that the Roxy was being converted into a commercial building by the widow of the late Jim Bikos.
I’d say this information supports the claims by JRS40 and KenK that the Ridge and Glen were the same theater and the theater around the corner on Broadway was the Roxy. The Roxy is not yet listed at Cinema Treasures.
Excellent research by Joe Vogel. Always good to have one’s child hood memories confirmed by someone else.
Talking about memories ! Let’s talk about Y&W. They opened and ran a drive in theater at 6680 Broadway,in Merrillville , that was also a part of my growing up years in the 50’s and 60’s… called the Y&W drive-in theater. Right across the street from the kiddie golf course across the street.
The Y&W drive-in theater is a part of this fine forum. No need to talk about it further. Just check it out.
Thank goodness for the 2009 picture the earlier one made the place look like a dump and somewhere i wouldn’t want to watch a movie.
The Roxy is still not listed at Cinema Treasures. The building at 3764 Broadway still exists, and is occupied by a women’s apparel shop called Best Fashions. From Google Street View it looks like the old marquee is still there, though covered up and stripped of its original signage. It also looks like the upper part of the facade has been altered— probably the decoration jase recalls was removed.
Though KenK remembers the Roxy as being larger than the Glen, in the satellite views the buildings look almost the same size. The Roxy building is higher, and jase said it had a balcony, but I don’t see any indication of upper-level exits. I’m wondering if the “balcony” was not actually a section of stadium-style seating (although I don’t see any front exits at the ends of the building either, which theaters with stadium sections typically had in those days.} But if there was a stadium section, that would account for KenK’s impression of the Glen being much smaller than the Roxy.
The Roxy had a balcony.With stars. The Roxy had a fairly sizeable stage. The balcony became a second story storage area for furniture, for Andros furniture,after the Roxy’s closure.
I had an Aunt who lived on Washington Street.less than half a block from both theaters. So growing up, I spent a lot of time in that part of Glen Park in the latter 40’s and early 50’s.
Jrs40, I do remember Roma Pizza. Also on Ridge Road, with in walking distance of the Glen/Ridge, do recall the hot dog stand that eventually evolved into a full blown restaurant,and then a Minor Dunn?
Oops. Pardon me. The Roxy had a balcony with stairs, not stars. (LOL)
Ken, I don’t remember the hot dog stand. I do remember the Minor Dunn however.
Does anyone know how I can get in contact with the owners of the theater?
MyyaAngel: There is contact information on the Glen Theater’s official web site.