Apollo Theatre
15-17 N. Illinois Street,
Indianapolis,
IN
46204
15-17 N. Illinois Street,
Indianapolis,
IN
46204
1 person
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Additional Info
Architects: Arthur Bohn, O.N. Mueller, Kurt Vonnegut Sr.
Firms: Vonnegut, Bohn & Mueller
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The Apollo Theatre opened on May 27, 1922. It was located in downtown Indianapolis on N. Illinois Street just off Indianapolis Avenue. For many years the Apollo Theatre was one of the leading downtown movie theatres. It was the exclusive theatre for Shirley Temple, W.C. Fields and the Marx Brothers movies. Although the Circle Theatre was the first theatre to to show a sound movie “The Jazz Singer”, the Apollo Theatre was the first to be wired for sound. The first regular sound feature was shown on April 21, 1928, “Tenderloin”. The film was from Warner Brothers starring Conrad Nagel.
For a time in 1940 the Apollo Theatre became the only newsreel theatre in Indianapolis. It closed on April 11, 1940, claiming it was unable to get first run product. It later became a Three Sisters department store.
Contributed by
Chuck
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
The Film Daily Yearbook;1940 edition list the Apollo Theatre, 17 N. Illinois Street, Indianapolis with 1,200 seats. The 1943 edition of F.D.Y. still has it listed with the same details but (Closed).
town down 2 years ago, replaced witha conrad hilton hotel
Here is an early photo of the Apollo:
http://tinyurl.com/ed9wy
The theater is behind the streetcar in this 1938 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/l2eh5
This is part of an ad in the 5/27/22 edition of the Indianapolis Star. The feature was “Bachelor Daddy”. Note the misspelling of inaugural in the ad.
http://tinyurl.com/ddzhxt
Grand opening ad uploaded
The records of Hugh J. Baker & Company, fabricator of structural and reinforcing steel and concrete, list Vonnegut, Bohn & Meuller as the architects of the Apollo. The firm’s co-founder (with Arthur Bohn), Bernard Vonnegut, died in 1908, and his son, Kurt Vonnegut Sr., became a principal of the firm in 1910. O. N. Mueller joined the firm later. Vonnegut Sr. was the lead architect on most of the firms projects.