Speedway Cinema 1 & 2
5692 Crawfordsville Road,
Indianapolis,
IN
46224
5692 Crawfordsville Road,
Indianapolis,
IN
46224
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Located just a half mile from where the famed Indy 500 race takes place was the “500” Speedway Shopping Center announced in 1954/5 with a scheduled but missed opening date in September of 1956. The not so speedy project finally opened theatre-less on November 30, 1960 anchored by a J.C. Penney, S.S. Kresge, Kroger grocer (whose presence lasted into the 2020s), and one of the final stores in the, then, century-old Vonnegut Hardware Company local chain. They were joined by a Topps Discount City “big box” store in 1962.
Ten years later, General Cinemas opened its newest area twin-screen facility, the Speedway Cinema I & II on December 22, 1972 with “Oliver” and “Jeremiah Johnson.” The venue featured two identical auditoriums with 456 seats each for a total of 912 seats. The GCC Speedway also featured an art gallery in the lobby as many of its theaters did in that period. It was one of seven theaters GCC had announced in the Indy area in 1972, alone.
General Cinema repositioned the Speedway as a sub-run discount house beginning on August 30, 1991. GCC closed the venue at the end of a 20-year lease point on July 23, 1992. CTS Heaston Circuit took on the venue on July 31, 1992. That only lasted until November 19, 1992 when CTS Heaston moved on. G&M Entertainment of Merrillville took on the venue next on August 25, 1993 after a refresh with a soft-launch and free showings of “The Sandlot” and “Hot Shots! Part Duex.”
About two operators later, Movie Craze Inc. was the last brave entrepreneur to take on the aging Speedway Cinema 1 & 2 which appears to have sputtered closing in February of 2000. Movie Craze announced bankruptcy in the tumultuous year of 2000 for the movie industry.
December 22nd, 1972 grand opening ad in photo section
I was working at Glendale 1 & 2 when I was sent over to except deliveries prior to opening. I was there when the doors were opened to the public and construction workers were still laying carpet on the upstairs restroom areas. One of the opening movies was JEREMIAH JOHNSON.