Indiana Theatre

Brismile on July 12, 2004 at 1:53 pm

Theodore W. Barhydt organized the Indiana Theater company to raise more than $750,000 to building the Indiana Theater. Esteemed Chicago theater architect John Eberson was enlisted to create an entertainment palace to accommodate 2000 patrons in stadium-style seating. John A. Schumacher & Co. of Indianapolis was the general contractor. Raymond Mork was Eberson’s on-site superintendent. The theater’s ornate domed ceiling was trimmed in 24-carat gold plate.

Originally affiliated with Paramount Pictures, The Indiana officially opened on Jan. 28, 1922, though early previews were given to stockholders and dignitaries. Theater employees wore costumes consistent with the theater’s Spanish Andalusian motife. Peacocks strutted about the lobby, which included handsome mosaic floors, an elegant fountain and a marble staircase. The 12-foot “Paramount Peacock,” at the top of the marquee, required 3,000 light bulbs. Sidney Smith was the theater’s first manager. The 20-piece Indiana Symphonic Orchestra, conducted by Raymond Bond Townsley, occupied the orchestra pit which incorporated a $50,000 Wurlitzer Hope-Jones pipe organ played by R. Wellington Welch and Jack Welch. The organ’s massive pipes were concealed in the walls. Festivities began with a inspiring version of “On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away,” by Terre Haute native Paul Dresser. The premier film feature was “Cappy Ricks,” starring Thomas Meighan and Agnes Ayers.

Mike McCormick
Vigo County Historian

boxtop45 on March 2, 2004 at 3:39 pm

I moved from Long Beach, ca. to Terre Haute in 1980. I rate this theatre highly next to the defunct Crest theatre in Long Beach.