Pixy Theatre

mharding on December 24, 2008 at 7:50 pm

From Mike Harding:

I bought the former Masonic Lodge #100 / Pixy Theater in July of 2008. I live in San Diego, but also own a portion of the family farm (from the 1870’s) on the Flat Rock River, known as the Owens-Forrest Riparian Preserve. I also have a home just south of Edinburgh, where my mother, Particia (Rambo) Harding grew up.

The downstairs portion of the building will continue to be known as the Pixy and will be begin hosting live music and theater concurrent with the Edinburgh Fall Festival in 2009. The theater still contains two original 1927 Peerless carbon arc lamp projectors, seating for 150 and two stages. Original Disney art on the walls of the lobby was recently uncovered and appears to be in original condition and capable of restoration and preservation.

The upper portion of the building will be known as the Owens-Forrest Environmental Institute named in honor of my family (Owens) and my late wife (Carol Forrest). The second and third floors are comprised of a lecture hall, full industrial kitchen, parlors, dressing rooms, men’s and ladies lavatories, ladies lounge and a large “chapel” suitable for weddings and receptions. The chapel’s main feature is its 1927 Aeolian Organ, one of the largest of residential organs ever built and orginally moved from the Levi Mansion in Indianapolis.

The OFEI will be open for business in July 2009 and will initially host a series of environmental restoration courses, workshops and symposia. I am an environmental scientist (Purdue graduate) that does land restoration work worldwide. My faculty for these workshops will be professional associates of mine who are experts in various aspects of environmental protection, such as air and water quality, erosion and sediment control, wildlife habitat establishment and other disciplines.

The lecture hall and other meeting rooms will be made available to community groups and are suitable for all manner of activities, including weddings, etc.

For more information about my activities and the Lodge/Pixy you can visit www.greatcircleint.com, www.flightofdiscovery.com or contact me at

Mike Harding

LORDSCAPES on April 12, 2009 at 12:19 am

I recall the Pixy well, as I attended matinees there as a child in the 1960’s and early 70’s. Saturday afternoons cost a dollar to get in and included two movies, with a 15-20 minute cartoon-filled intermission in between. It was owned by Bice Sconce, who owned several other theaters as well. Mr. Sconce lived in a huge house on the hill near the old high school, next to an equally large house owned by Esqueline Bruce. As I recall, original Disney artwork on the walls which was recently uncovered was painted there by David Barrett of Edinburgh sometime in the early 1960’s. I often credit the Pixy as being the place where Cherry Coke got its start—-ipon request, “Hot Dog” Barrett would put a squirt of cherry juice in your coke for you.

mharding on April 18, 2009 at 6:10 pm

From Mike Harding:

Thanks for your comments and memories. To update you all, this site does not let me post photos, but we’ll have a website up pretty soon, aka www.TheEdinburghPixy.org I’ll keep posting progress photos but to date here’s where we are:

New replacement windows in the third floor Lodge area custom built by Bee Windows to match the originals;

Third floor Lodge area 75% complete with all walls, ceilings, etc. stripped, primed and painted.

All woodwork in the Lodge area (i.e., baseboards, windoew frames, six-panel oak dors, etc) stripped of paint and natural wood preserved.

All carpet, vinyl and adhesive removed from southern yellow pine floors (whew!) and floors sanded and ready to receive stain and poly coat.

Yep, the cartoon figures on the North wall of the lobby as you walk in are mostly Looney Tunes, although there’s a Pluto as well. There’s a Peter and the Wolf on the South wall, somewhat faded over the years and Mickey Mouse is still in the closet. I’m intrigued by the suggestion that there are other Looney figures as well… they must be on the south wall which is still covered by paneling.

Our intention is to preserve these figures as much as possible.

The rest of the theater is pretty much the way it has been for the last 40 years. There is a lot of electrical work to be done so that the stage and house lights can be operated from one panel.

Unlike the Artcraft in Franklin and the Crump in Columbus, we are not getting grants nor is our work being accomplished by volunteers; part of the responsibility of ownership (I feel) is to involve the community and to that end, I’m employing locals who are out of work and paying them to do the work myself.

Again, thanks for your interest. Stop by anytime… someone is generally there between 8 and 3 on weekdays. Keep the comments coming.

Mike

mharding on August 25, 2009 at 3:45 pm

From Mike Harding:

Just an update on renovation progress at The Edinburgh Pixy. We’ve incorporated a non-profit 501© corporation called “The Owens-Forrest Environmental Institute” as the business entity for the property, of which “The Edinburgh Pixy” is a for-profit Indiana Corporation.

To date the following has been accomplished (from the top down): Roof repaired and sealed; new collectors and downspouts; all third and second floor rooms plastered, primed and painted; new electrical conduits and lighting installed; all third floor carpet, vinyl and tiles removed and southern yellow pine floors sanded, stained and polyurethaned; eighteen custom-reproduction windows and sills installed on third and second floors and in stairwells by Bee Windows of Indpls (fabulous job); second floor bathroom expanded to include seven(7) new stalls + urinals; new baseboard electric heat on second floor (none before); all doors and woodwork throughout building stripped down to their original cherry, oak and curly maple finish; new drapes purchased for third floor Lecture and Great Hall; all third floor benches stripped and currently being reupholstered by Bayles (Seymour); new stage lights in Pixy Theater (by TRM Electrical of Edinburgh); Aeolian organ in Great Hall renovated by John Goulding of Indiana State Historical Organ Society (incredible sound!).

I’ll be in town from Sept 6th through Oct 3rd with a few friends finishing up some detail work. All the lights, cabinets, drapes and fixtures have been delivered to finish the lobby, the third floor kitchen and all the bathrooms. The Endinburgh Little Prince and Princess Pageant will be held (in conjunction with the Fall Festival) at The Edinburgh Pixy on Saturday Sept 19th around 12:30pm, so come on by after you have the chicken dinner at the Lions Club across the street.

We Proceed Onward…

Mike

50sSNIPES on July 24, 2021 at 2:46 pm

The Temple Theatre’s name lasted until October 4, 1932. Prior to that, many people came up a really good name for a new motion picture theatre for the city of Edinburgh in a contest. The winner’s name is the “Playhouse Theatre”, which was named right after Allen Dale Martin and Ms. Mary Howell who won a split on the first prize of $5 that were both given the game “Playhouse” during the first week of October 1932. The second prize went on E. C. Allison who presented the name “Tri-County” and 9 other people were all in third that were given the name “Walnut”. The fourth prize was given to 4 people who chose the name “Community”, and the others such as H. A. Allison (“Prototone”), Mrs. Charles A. Miller (“Relart”), Mrs. Ernest Cookston (“Park View”), George E. Pearce (“Avalon”), Ms. Mary Smith (“Home”), Mrs. J. A. Thompson (“Eden Park”), A. B. Colvin (“Starland”), and 3 other people (“Masonic”).

The Template Theatre changed its name to the Playhouse Theatre on October 4, 1932. The Playhouse Theatre name lasted until October 10, 1941 when it became the Pixy Theatre.