Princess Theatre
222 S. Main Street,
New Castle,
IN
47362
222 S. Main Street,
New Castle,
IN
47362
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B.D. Cockrill sold his Princess Theater to Publix-Fitzpatrick-McElroy, which took possession on December 12, 1929.
In January 1933 Publix-Fitzpatrick-McElroy was placed into receivership, followed by bankruptcy. On February 1, 1933, Referee in Bankruptcy Carl Wilde appointed Irving Lemaux to manage as Trustee in Bankruptcy the nineteen theaters in Indiana formerly operated by Publix-Fitzpatrick-McElroy. In March the federal bankruptcy court auctioned the lease for this theater and ten others formerly operated by the defunct chain. After bids on ten were rejected, the Trustee ordered a private sale. On April 1, 1933, the Referee announced that this theater and four others formerly operated by Publix-Fitzpatrick-McElroy had been sold to Theatrical Managers, Inc. The new company included veteran theatrical operators V.U. Young of Gary, Ind., and C.J. Wolf of Wheeling, WVa; and Indianapolis businessmen Pierre Goodrich and Leslie Colvin. Theatrical Managers and later, Y&W Management Corporation, operated the Princess in conjunction with the Henry Theatre Corporation.
The theater remains in operation on the 1949 map. By this point, the marquee in the photo has been replaced by a ‘V’ shaped model. The theater is noted as being air conditioned on this map.
The building was rather oddly arranged. The auditorium was not nearly as wide as the front section. On what is the left in the photo, the front extended all the way to the alley, and the northern storefront had a section extending back perhaps 10'. The auditorium past that was much lower, and was set back perhaps 6' from the alley.
When the building was constructed, it replaced a very old church, which then relocated to a large new structure to the south of the theater, and has likewise been torn down.
The Princess was listed at 222 S. Main Street in the 1922 city directory, which would place it directly across the street from the site of the Castle Theatre.
Opened in 1919, the Princess Theatre opened on Main Street. In 1927, owner B.D. Cockrill modernized the theater equipping it with a Page Unit Organ. The theater closed being outsurvived by the Castle Theatre which kept going into the 21st Century. The Princess was demolished.