Auditorium Theatre

Five theatres once served patrons in “The Harbor” – the Indiana Harbor section of East Chicago, IN. Each was a stone’s throw from its neighbor – one on Guthrie Street, the other four nearby on Michigan Avenue. In the same vicinity, the Auditorium Theatre served as both a theatre and general-purpose venue. All six buildings are depicted in the 1915 Sanborn Maps. All are gone.

The Auditorium Building stood at 3434-3436 Michigan Avenue, which is the corner of Michigan Avenue and Grapevine Street (later Grand Boulevard). Built in 1907 by Michael and Barney Cohen, the building contained stores, offices and apartments on the lower floors, and an auditorium on the third floor that could accommodate 800 people. The structure was destroyed by fire on December 22, 1913, and rebuilt in 1914 at a cost of $75,000. The third floor meeting space, called the Auditorium Theatre or the Harbor Auditorium Theatre, was used for films, live shows, prize fights and other special presentations. In July 1925 units of the second battalion of the 113th Engineer Regiment moved their quarters to the Auditorium Theatre.

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