Sipe Theatre
127 E. Sycamore Street,
Kokomo,
IN
46901
127 E. Sycamore Street,
Kokomo,
IN
46901
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By 1905, the Cahn guide calls it the Sipe Theatre. It disagrees slightly on capacity, giving it as 1,100. G.W. Sipe was the manager.
The 1902 Sanborn shows this as Sipe’s Opera House, and the 1916 map shows it with a capacity of 1,000.
Huge and massive marquee on this one. Lighting great too. Nice exterior.
July 19th, 1924 reopening ad as Sipe in photo section.
BoxRec’s bout list for boxer Mike Moran has him fighting at the Sipe Theatre in Kokomo on June 14, 1920, and at the Strand Theatre in Kokomo on September 2, 1921, so the name change took place between those dates.
The August 28, 1920, issue of Indiana Construction Reporter has a notice saying that contracts had been let for alterations and an addition to a theater in Kokomo owned by Ben Barton, Sipe Theatre Company. I’ve found quite a few references to Barton in connection with the Sipe Theatre around this time. The remodeling project, which was designed by Indianapolis architects Bass, Knowlton & Graham, must have been for this house. The renaming probably took place at the time of this remodeling.
Frank Cullen’s Vaudeville, Old & New lists this house both as Sipe’s Theatre and as B. F. Keith’s Strand Theatre during the period it was part of the Keith-Albee circuit.
RubiTrio, or anyone: Did anyone know anything about George’s son, Earl Daniel, who married my GGGrandmother, Jean Burget; or George’s Dog & Pony Shows? Thanks in advance, Bill
From Strand Newsletter 3/12/10
“The Strand Theatre Pipe Organ, endowed by the Shelby County Historical Society, has taken another step closer to rebuilding. The Strand’s organ was manufactured by the Louisville Pipe Organ Company (LPO) in 1928. It was one of a handful of instruments the firm made specifically for theatre use.
Our organ (Strand Theatre, Shelbyville, IN), Opus 531, was built in Terre Haute Indiana after LPO moved from Louisville. It was originally built for the Sipe Theatre in Kokomo, Indiana. The theatre never took the instrument, so it was installed in the Uptown Theatre in Louisville, Kentucky."
http://www.strand-theatre-shelbyville.org/
My great aunts were in vaudeville and played the Sipe in February, 1918. I am sorry that it is gone.
Here is a February 1941 ad from the Kokomo Tribune:
http://tinyurl.com/2qfkdq