Cinema 1

dallasmovietheaters on February 22, 2026 at 6:03 am

This entry serves two different buildings. There were two Orpheums in downtown Elkhart and then the Cinema 1 replaced the second Orph. The first was in a converted retail building operating from 1910 into 1913. The second was architected by Freyermuth & Maurer in South Bend and it was built for vaudeville. It was a new-build facility with previous 19th Century retail structures razed to make space. George J. Hoffman hired C.J. Allardt of South Bend. The Elks Lodge got to host and stage the first event on November 20, 1913.

Programming took a turn toward film though the vaudeville signage etched into its front would remain until demolition. A Seeburg-Smith 2 manual organ was installed and dedicated on July 4, 1920 replacing the venue’s original organ with Frederick Eugene Karch at the console. The venue On August 22, 1930, Warner Bros. Theatre Circuit of New York took on the Lerner, Orph and Bucklen in Elkhart and the Jefferson and Lincoln in Goshen. That likely carried a new 20 year lease. Under a new ownership arrangement, it was given a major refresh in 1934.

At halfway point of its probably lease - Summer of 1940 - the Orpheum got its most significance, major interior and exterior streamline moderne makeover that it pretty much carried until 1969. The venue was converted to widescreen to play VistaVision titles in 1955 and, later, CinemaScope titles with Hi-Fi audio. Miller Theatres decided to close the Orpheum Theatre on February 1, 1969 and demolish it in favor of a new adult-only theater. This would mean mature themed, R-rated films and X-Rated titles.

The new Cinema I was ready to go on July 23, 1969 with many era-acceptable elements - including gaudy Maria Theresa chandeliers, moving feature attractor on the exterior, leopard skin carpeting, an Italian-themed fountain, and lots Palos Verdes stone. GKC took on the venue closing it in 1991.

rivest266 on February 21, 2026 at 3:05 am

Opened on July 23, 1969.

Cinema 1 opening Jul 23, 1969 The Truth (Elkhart, Indiana) Newspapers.com

Joe Vogel on October 18, 2022 at 9:12 pm

This item about the Orpheum appeared in the January 4, 1919 issue of Moving Picture World:

“Orpheum Holds a Potato Matinee.

“A potato matinee, the admission for which was one potato, was given by the management of the Orpheum Theatre at Elkhart, Ind., on Saturday, December 21. All of the tubers—and there were several bushels collected—were turned over to Miss Bessie Owens, city welfare worker, for distribution among the poor of the city at Christmas time. ‘The Midnight Patrol,’ a Select film, was the attraction.”

Although the Orpheum is not listed in the 1926 FDY, it does appear in the 1929 edition and is still listed in the 1951 edition. CinemaTour gives the Orpheum the aka Cinema I. Another web page says that, in the 1980s, all the theaters in Elkhart, including Cinema I, were owned by a Bill Miller, who was murdered by a disgruntled employee at the Concord Theatre in 1987, after which the theaters were all sold to the GKC (Kerasotes) chain, which closed all but the Encore within a few years.

CinemaTour also gives an opening year of 1913 for the Orpheum, though it isn’t one of the three theaters listed at Elkhart in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory. The Directory’s listings were often incomplete.