New Huntington Theater
528 N. Jefferson Street,
Huntington,
IN
46750
528 N. Jefferson Street,
Huntington,
IN
46750
1 person
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The book Huntington County Farmers and Families (1993) said, “The Huntington Theater was owned by Hal Rosebrough, Charlie Cutsall, and a corporation from the south. Gail Lancaster was the manager.” That was from a listing for Melvin Charles Kennedy, who ran the projectors there.
From the early 1900s a photo postcard of the New Theatre.
The only theater listed for Huntington in the 1900-1901 edition of Julius Cahn’s theatrical guide is the Opera House, a second-floor theater with 800 seats. The proscenium was 30' wide and 16' high. Only gas lighting was listed.
The 1904-1905 edition of the guide lists the New Huntington Theatre, a gound-floor house with 1,100 seats, electric light, and a proscenium 36' wide and 28' high. As the Opera House is no longer listed, the New Huntington must have replaced it.
I notice that in the photos from after the moderne remodeling, the marquee only says The Huntington, so the “New” must have been dropped until it was restored by the current owners.
http://www.countdowntocurtainup.com/
the theatre was purchased in summer of ‘07 by two darling guys who are quite witty. they blog daily about their restoration effort…they plan on restoring the theatre to accommodate live shows and a permanent theatre company. very cool.
i went to college in huntington and frequented the theatre quite a lot in the late 90’s. i went to first-run movies there (i was there opening night of their last new movie…star wars episode one…there was not an empty seat in the house! they even installed temporary modern speakers to accommodate the sound!) and then went even more when they turned to classic movies. a town as small as huntington, with a new cineplex outside of town, couldn’t keep it going. i was really sad to see it go, but i am really excited to see it being lovingly restored. guys, from one theatre lover to another, great work! i plan on getting back to see your progress soon!
For sale for $189,900 http://listing.loopnet.com/15003707
Historic preservation information:
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