Zaring's Egyptian Theatre
2741 Central Avenue,
Indianapolis,
IN
46205
2741 Central Avenue,
Indianapolis,
IN
46205
2 people
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Additional Info
Architects: Frank Baldwin Hunter
Styles: Atmospheric, Egyptian
Previous Names: Zaring Theatre, Egyptian Theatre
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This Egyptian-style theatre opened on November 2, 1925, located on Central Avenue at 28th Street. It was variously known as Zaring’s Egyptian Theatre, the Zaring Theatre, and the Egyptian Theatre. In 1945, according to the Film Daily Yearbook of that year, it was still in operation and seated 1,082. The theatre’s 2 manual Marr & Colton organ is now at the Garfield Park United Church of Christ in Indianapolis.
The Egyptian Theatre was closed as a movie theatre by 1961, and under new operators began staging seasons of musical, with other live presentations. It was presenting burlesque by January 1966 and was closed soon afterwards. It was demolished in 1969.
Contributed by
Bryan
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
Here is a photo from the late 20s or early 30s:
http://tinyurl.com/lhpcw
I came across this pdf file of a paper with some history of the Zaring family, which includes a section on Amzi C. Zaring, owner of the Egyptian. It begins on page 34, and says that he entered the movie exhibition business when he bought the North Star Theatre in 1910. The North Star was located at 25th and Central, so it was right down the street from Zaring’s Egyptian.
Amzi Zaring operated the Egyptian Theater until 1956, when he sold it to David and Kelly Levitt. By 1966, the house had become the only burlesque theater in Indiana.
The paper mentions several other theaters that Amzi Zaring operated over the years. They include the Delight, at 24th Street and College Avenue; the Garrick, at 30th Street and Illinois Avenue; the Columbia, on Senate Avenue; the Imperial, on McCarty Street east of West Street; and the Belmont, on Belmont Avenue and West Washington Street. Zaring also operated the Sipe Theatre at Kokomo, Indiana, for a time. The paper gives no dates for these operations, but I get the impression they were all open in the years before Zaring built the Egyptian.
If the North Star is listed at Cinema Treasures under some later name, it’s missing the aka. Maybe somebody familiar with Indianapolis theaters will know if it’s listed yet. It’s also possible that Zaring closed the North Star when he built the Egyptian. The paper doesn’t say.
I found this today looking around on the web. An interior shot. http://collections.mocp.org/detail.php?t=objects&type=browse&f=maker&s=Allen%2C+Harold&record=1
Historic Indianapolis article link http://historicindianapolis.com/indianapolis-then-and-now-zarings-egyptian-theatre-2741-central-avenue/
November 2nd, 1925 grand opening ad in the photo section Higher quality scan of the ad is at
http://indystar.newspapers.com/clip/3478032/zaring_egyptian_opening/
Numerous sources indicate that the architect of Zaring’s Egyptian Theatre was Frank Baldwin Hunter, brother of Edgar Otis Hunter. Though Frank Hunter, who had studied art but had no formal architectural training, had apprenticed with Preston Rubush, he established his own practice in 1907, becoming quite successful as a residential architect. After designing numerous houses, he began designing commercial projects, including Zaring’s Egyptian and the Fountain Square Theatre.