Lark Theatre
8 E. National Avenue,
Brazil,
IN
47834
8 E. National Avenue,
Brazil,
IN
47834
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The January 6, 1957 issue of the Brazil Daily Times said that Stanley Cooper had sold the Lark Theatre building to a developer who planned to convert it to retail use. The article noted that the Lark had been closed since 1953 except for a brief period of operation the previous spring, so the final closing must have been by summer of 1956. The article also said that the Lark had opened in March, 1922. The conversion to a J. C. Penney store came in late 1957.
The March 6, 1956 issue of Boxoffice said that the Lark Theatre in Brazil, Indiana had been reopened with a policy of excluding children of elementary school age and younger. Owner Stanley Cooper told Boxoffice that “[s]o far, the idea has been received with enthusiasm. We are getting out adults who haven’t been in a theater for years.” The house was not running adult or art films, just regular movies. I haven’t discovered how long the policy lasted. The house had been closed for two years when the experiment began.
Conversion to a Penney’s involved some really ugly paneling. To install this, most of the glazed tile ornamentation was chiseled off. The paneling has been removed, and some white stone added to cover the scars.
The Lark Theatre closed as a movie theater in early 1954, based on a note in the March 13, 1954 issue of BoxOffice. It took out a large display ad in the Brazil Times to explain “Why the Lark Theatre Is Closing,” blaming TV and changes in film production.
Undated photo added, taken from the Lark Theatre website.
http://thelarktheatre.com/
A small photo of the Lark accompanies this story.