Columbia 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 472-seat Columbia Theatre was at 3431 Michigan Avenue – on Michigan Avenue at Grapevine Street (later Grand Boulevard), across the street from the Auditorium Building. A straight picture house, the Columbia Theatre was described as “new” in a June 1915 news item. There are no references to it before 1915.

In November 1915 Julius Nassau, A. Engel and Nick Doicha acquired all five Harbor movie theaters – the Columbia, Family, Pictureland, Gem and Liberty – with plans to close the Pictureland, Gem and Liberty; drop vaudeville from the three theatres that offered it; focus on the Columbia Theatre and Family Theatre; and raise prices from five cents to the 10-to-15 cent range. Inland Theatre Corporation operated the theatre in 1921 and 1922.

Elton Potts and A.I. Engel were the proprietors in February 1918. Alex Manta took over in 1920 and managed the theatre for the next five years. In February 1925, Manta opened the new Indiana Theatre, “the finest show house in Lake County,” a few blocks southwest on Michigan Avenue. The Columbia Theatre ended regular programming late that year. It was used for events in March and April 1926 then dismantled.

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