Hartford Theater

118 E. Washington Street,
Hartford City, IN 47348

Unfavorite 1 person favorited this theater

Additional Info

Architects: Erwin G. Fredrick

Functions: Medical Center

Nearby Theaters

Hartford Theater

The Hartford Theater opened in 1949. The building is currently used as an alcohol and drug addiction center.

Contributed by Lost Memory

Recent comments (view all 4 comments)

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on January 2, 2010 at 4:44 am

From the photo of the former Hartford Theatre, the building is recognizable as the house designed by architect Erwin G. Fredrick for Frank Walters and M.H. Scheidler, operators of the Orpheum and Jefferson theaters in Hartford City.

Mr. Fredrick’s rendering of the proposed theater was displayed in the “Just Off the Boards” feature of Boxoffice, August 17, 1946.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on July 28, 2012 at 1:02 am

Here is an updated link to architect Erwin G. Fredrick’s rendering of the new theater for Hartford in Boxoffice of August 17, 1946.

leighmorris
leighmorris on August 31, 2017 at 12:53 pm

The Hartford Theater was a rebuild of a long-closed Dawn Theater. It was magnificent! Althought it was clearly a movie theater, there was a stage and in the early years there were live presentations of various types. One was Jay Zee, a hypnotist.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on November 27, 2023 at 6:47 am

From the November 28, 1946 Film Daily: “INDIANA

“Hartford—Frank Walters and M. H. Scheidler have started work on their new 1,000 seat house, to be named the Hartford. Facade will be of granite and the house will be air conditioned. The pair own the Orpheum and Jefferson theaters, in Wabash, and the Main in Dunkirk.”

The house was still in the planning stage in 1948, when the project was mentioned again in the April 2 issue of FD. The Harford first appears in the 1950 FDY (when it was listed with 916 seats,) so it might not have opened until 1949. Mr. Scheidler was mentioned as the manager of the Hartford in the July 9, 1949 Boxoffice, so it was open by then.

The reference to Wabash in the 1946 item was a mistake, as houses called the Jefferson and Orpheum were listed at Hartford City in the 1947 FDY, and were still listed in 1950. Houses listed at Wabash in 1947 were the Colonial and the Eagles.

The Hartford’s predecessor, the 250-seat Dawn Theatre, was in operation by 1929, and was listed as closed in the 1938 FDY.

You must login before making a comment.

New Comment

Subscribe Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.