Venetian Theatre
305 S. Main Street,
Elkhart,
IN
46516
305 S. Main Street,
Elkhart,
IN
46516
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Additional Info
Previous Names: Majestic Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Majestic Theatre opened January 15, 1912 at 305 South Main Street in a converted retail location by Ollie E. Rogers. Three reels of film - or 30 minutes - with Gus Ludwig, baritone was on the bill. This indicated that the Majestic Theatre had a single projector and live filler between films. Basil “Ben” and Angelo M. Pechorelli took on the venue on September 21, 1912 as the Venetian Theatre.
Ezra Rhodes of the Orpheum Theatre and Family Theatre locally and the LaSalle Theatre and Castle Theatre in South Bend bought out the Venetian Theatre lessen the picture show theatere competition. Rhodes ripped out the seats following the last presentation at the Venetian Theatre on June 18, 1919. The space was converted for use by Paul D. Farley’s Delicatessen & Bakery (which haad a 25-year run there) and by S.S. Kresge’s for a dime store.
Angelo moved to Goshen taking over the Royal Theatre there likely indicating a form of non-compete arrangement in Elkhart.
The building housing the theatre appears to have been demolished in August of 1954 after a salvage sale.
Contributed by
dallasmovetheaters
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Correction: Opening paragraph should be:
The first theater to open in the 1889-built Puterbaugh Block was the Bijou Theatre. Advertised as located in the building’s “North Side” (303 South Main St.), the Bijou opened March 16, 1907 with a sloping floor and opera chairs. As an early nickelodeon, it played movies and illustrated songs for five cents admission. This likely meant that it had only one projector with song slides as filler between the short one reel films. On June 12, 1911, new operator George W. Slick took on the venue as the Billiken Theatre. Its last advertised show was on December 2, 1911. It would reopen a month later under a new name, likely using both sides of the Puterbaugh Block’s main floor.