After hearing Lady Gaga sing an amazing medley of The Sound of Music songs at the Oscars and then seeing her and Julie Andrews embrace, it brought back memories of the first time I saw The Sound of Music on the big screen — and I mean big screen — in 1965. I waited in a line that stretched from the old Lyric Theatre at 135 N. Illinois Street south to Market and then east to the Circle and half way around the Circle. I’m surprised at how many people don’t know that we had large movie theatres downtown within a few blocks of each other up until about 1970. The Lyric had over 1,400 seats and they were sold out for The Sound of Music!
The Lowes Theatre was at 35 N. Pennsylvania and had over 14,000 seats, and closed in 1970. These two theatres are long gone but two are still going strong.
The Circle Theatre, which is now home to the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, was a wonderful place to watch a movie. It has been beautifully remodelled to its former glory. My husband and I saw a live performance of Hair there in 1970.
The Indiana Theatre at 140 W. Washington was huge too. It’s now home to the Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT). When you go to the third floor of the building you’re actually up where the top of the original theatre was — you can see the top of the carved walls that used to extend all the way up from two floors below. I saw the 30th Anniversary showing of Gone With the Wind there in 1969 with my whole family.
at The Indiana
Roof Ballroom." src="http://weeklyview.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Mom-and-Dad-Indiana-Roof-300x222.jpg" width="300" height="222" /> My parents —
Eddie & Mary
Jewell Collins
at The Indiana
Roof Ballroom.
On the top floor of the Indiana Theatre is the Indiana Roof Ballroom. The ballroom has over 9,000 square feet of dance floor and a beautiful Mediterranean village stage set built on the balcony that runs all the way around. Overhead, the dark blue ceiling has a night sky which includes twinkling electric “stars” — an absolutely enchanting place!
I have been to many events there over the years and had my senior prom from Tech there in 1967. It was a popular nightclub dance floor in the 1940s and my parents went dancing there, as did my in-laws. My parents would have been married 65 years on February 26th, but both passed away much too young. My mother-in-law, Betty danced at the Indiana Roof with Frank Sinatra, back when he was just a band singer — she said he wasn’t that good at dancing and was kinda short — she can still dance quite well to this day.
The Roof is still used today for all kinds of events — wedding receptions, award ceremonies, meetings, and more. They have a Big Band Dance Series that is only $14 per ticket. Visit www.indianaroof.com/big-band. If you ever get a chance to go to an event up there, don’t miss it because it’s amazing.
These theatres were built back during vaudeville and silent movie days. You’d be surprised at all the big names who performed in these magnificent buildings. These are just a few of the dozens of theatres that flourished all over Indianapolis, most of which are gone. There is so much history in these buildings. If you’re interested in reading more about the theatres, the performers and the history, I recommend Howard Caldwell’s book The Golden Age of Indianapolis Theaters. It was first published in 2010 and I’m sure Kathleen at Bookmamas (9 S. Johnson – 375-3715) can get it for you. paula.weeklyview@yahoo.com
