Family 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 408-seat Family Theatre was at 3449 Michigan Avenue – on Michigan Avenue southeast of Grapevine Street (now Grand Boulevard), a few doors to the right of the Columbia Theatre. Opened October 22, 1910, it offered vaudeville and the latest-and-best photoplays for five cents. It was run by G.E. Berkeson from 1910-1914.

In November 1915 Julius Nassau, A. Engel and Nick Doicha acquired all five Harbor movie theatres – 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 Theatres; and raise prices from five cents to the 10-to-15 cent range. Inland Theatre Corporation operated the theatre in 1921 and 1922.

The Family Theatre opened again on March 9, 1918, once more under the management of G.E. Berkeson. “Not connected with any other theatre in town,” the advertisement proclaimed, also making note of the new Wurlitzer orchestral instrument. In August 1920 the Family Theatre debuted its new Bartola pipe organ.

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 Family Theatre was torn down in May 1925 to make way for a new building.

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