Park Theatre Civic Centre
25 Madison Avenue,
North Vernon,
IN
47265
25 Madison Avenue,
North Vernon,
IN
47265
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Related Websites
Park Theatre Civic Centre, Inc. (Official)
Additional Info
Architects: J.H. Miller
Functions: Performing Arts
Styles: Art Deco
Previous Names: Jennings Theatre
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
812.346.0330
Manager:
812.346.0330
Nearby Theaters
Opened as the Jennings Theatre October 4, 1916. It was renamed Park Theatre in 1938. The newly renovated and reopened Park Theatre Civic Centre in downtown North Vernon, Indiana has become an historic venue for the arts, ecompassing nearly every genre of music and theatre.
We invite you to tour our website as well as visit downtown North Vernon in the very near future. Exciting things are being planned every day and you will want to be a part of every event held at this gorgeous theatre. Whether you grew up with the original Park Theatre throughout the 1940’s, 1950’s and 1960’s or this is your first time, you’ll be blown away at what we’ve done.
The Park Theatre Civic Centre: A Gem from the Past, a Showcase of the Future.
Contributed by
Brian W. Perry
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
The Jennings Theatre was open prior to 1925 with seating at that time listed at 400.
This history page at the Park Theatre web site says that the Jennings Theatre opened on October 4, 1916.
Construction had actually begun in 1913, and the house was to have been operated by the Switow Amusement Company of Louisville, Kentucky, but financial problems caused the suspension of the project when it was only partly completed. In 1916, a local company was formed to take over the project and finish it.
The North Vernon Amusement Company operated the Jennings Theatre until 1938, when it was leased to Albert Thompson, who renamed the house the Park Theatre. Howard Black took over the theater in 1960, but it was closed in March, 1962.
In 1997, local volunteers formed Park Theatre Civic Inc., bought the theater building for $35,000, and set about renovating it. The Park Theatre Civic Centre opened in 2003.
The May 12, 1916, issue of The American Contractor carried this item about the theater project:
J. H. Miller was a local architect and contractor in North Vernon. I haven’t been able to discover who was the original architect of the project for the Switow Amusement Company in 1913.