Long Center for the Performing Arts
111 N. Sixth Street,
Lafayette,
IN
47901
111 N. Sixth Street,
Lafayette,
IN
47901
1 person
favorited this theater
The Mars Theatre was built for the Luna Amusement Company and was designed by the Lafayette architectural firm of Nicol, Scholer & Hoffman. It was built by local contractor A. E. Kemmer and opened on the evening of April 19, 1921. The Ed. Wynn Musical Carnival performed the opening show, followed by the newly-formed Mars Orchestra. The theatre was used primarily for vaudeville, while the Luna Amusement Company’s other theatres (the Luna and Family Theatres ) showed moving pictures and vaudeville. In January, 1929, the Mars showed Lafayette’s first “talking” motion picture, a film called “On Trial”.
The Mars operated as a movie theater until 1977, when it was given to the city by the Dennis Long family. At that time it was renamed the Long Center for the Performing Arts. It became the home of the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra, the Long Center Theatre Organ Society, and the Lafayette Ballet Company. The original Seeburg-Smith Unified organ was replaced by a more elaborate “Mighty Wurlitzer” organ. Despite heavy use by these and other prominent local groups, the Long Center continued to deteriorate.
In 1999, the building underwent a thorough restoration which brought the auditorium and other public spaces back to their 1921 appearance. This work was done by the renowned Conrad Schmidt Studios. An unsympathetic 1940s Art Deco marquee had replaced the original marquee and sign. These were replicated during the restoration, with the sign modified to read “Long” instead of “Mars” as the original did.
The Long Center is a critical facility which provides an appropriate environment for the performing arts. It is well worth visiting to see a show in such beautiful surroundings.
Contributed by
Ben Ross
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
The seating capacity of the Mars Theatre was 1,472, as listed in the 1941 edition of Film Daily Yearbook.
I found this history on the organs in the Mars/Long Center for the Performing Arts. it is from the Indiana Theatre Organ Society.
The story of the Mars Theatre, now the Long Center for the Performing Arts, and its history with the theatre organ is really the story of four pipe organs. When the theatre opened in 1921, it could be said that it was less than the proud owner of a 3/10 Smith-Geneva pipe organ that lasted in the theatre just three years. In 1924, a 3/10 Wurlitzer was installed, and remained in the theatre until the early 1960s. It was purchased by the former national president of ATOS, Al Mason, and installed in his Michigan home. Following his death, this instrument was purchased by and installed in the Palace Theatre in Marion, Ohio.
When operation of the Long Center was taken over by the city of Lafayette, longtime resident Carroll Copeland and local sportscaster Ken Double began the task of fund-raising to acquire an instrument to install in the theatre. In February of 1982, a hodge-podge of pipework that ended up a 3-14 organ was premiered to back-to-back opening night sell-out concerts. That organ was never fully completed, and as difficulties with its playability continued, it was determined that a replacement would be necessary.
A major fund-raising effort, combined with profits from a most successful organ series, provided the monies for a new pipe organ. In 1989, a sparkling new three-manual console (originally from the United Artists theatre in Detroit) was wired into the 14 ranks that played. In the winter of 1991-92, the Crome Organ Company, assisted by Carlton Smith, completed an installation of 21 ranks of mostly Wurlitzer pipe work, providing the state of Indiana its largest in-theatre pipe organ
Added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1981
Mars Theatre (added 1981 – Building – #81000030)
Also known as Denis H. Long Center for the Performing Arts
111 N. 6th St., Lafayette
Historic Significance: Architecture/Engineering, Event
Architect, builder, or engineer: Kemmer Construction Co., Nicol,Scholer, & Hoffman
Architectural Style: Other, Colonial Revival
Area of Significance: Performing Arts, Entertainment/Recreation, Architecture
Period of Significance: 1900-1924, 1925-1949
Owner: Private
Historic Function: Recreation And Culture
Historic Sub-function: Theater
Current Function: Recreation And Culture
Current Sub-function: Theater
This is a photo of the Long Center.
Recent photos of this theatre are HERE
Here is a photo from 2003.
Here are two photos from 1976:
Photo1
Photo2