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Artcraft Theatre
Artcraft Theatre is located in Indiana
Artcraft Theatre
Artcraft Theatre
Location within Indiana
Address57 N. Main St
Franklin, Indiana
United States
Coordinates39°28′52″N 86°03′18″W / 39.481161°N 86.055017°W / 39.481161; -86.055017
OwnerFranklin Heritage, Inc.
DesignationNational Register of Historic Places
TypeMovie theater
Seating typeFestival Seating
Capacity625
Screens1
Current useMovie theater and concert venue
Construction
OpenedNovember 1st, 1922
Renovated1936, 1940, 1948-1952
ClosedMay, 2000
Reopened2004
Years active1922 - present
ArchitectRoy C. Bryant
Structural engineerArsee Engineering
Website
Official website

The Historic Artcraft Theatre is a movie theater in Franklin, Indiana in the United States. The theater operated as a first-run movie theater continuously for 78 years before closing. It was the headquarters for Syndicate Theatre's cinema network from 1936-2000. Saved from demolition by historic preservation group Franklin Heritage Inc., the theater shows classic movies and hosts concerts as the group restores the Artcraft and other local buildings.[1] The Artcraft is one of the best examples of an art deco theatre in Indiana.

History

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Opening its doors on November 1, 1922, the Artcraft was the first theater in Franklin built to show movies. It was built in the neo-classical style without a marquee or blade sign. Located across the street from the interurban railway station, the Artcraft was ideal to bring in vaudeville troupes. The Artcraft also showed silent movies from 1922-1929.[1] During that time the orchestra pit in front of the stage housed any musicians needed to accompany films. Many area high schools and Franklin College performed plays and hosted commencements ceremonies on the Artcraft stage throughout the 1920s and 1930s.[2][3]

The Rembusch family from Shelbyville, Indiana leased the Artcraft in 1928 and bought the theater in 1936. The Rembusch family installed sound at the Artcraft on October 28, 1929. The first talkie was Fox's Follies of 1929.[4] In 1935 they added the first air-conditioning system in Franklin using a swamp cooling system.[5][6] During the Great Depression, many American families turned to cheap entertainment at the movies to keep a sense of normality. The Artcraft joined the popular Cash or Bank Nite lottery.[7] Bank Nite continued at the Artcraft through the 1950s. The Rembusches added a 2 line A-framed marquee and blade sign in 1940. They added walnut and agate-colored vitrolite glass on the lower front façade around the poster cases. Because of Franklin's idyllic community and its appearance of recovery from the Great Depression, LIFE Magazine chose Franklin as the feature for its photo-essay on a small town's Saturday night. The issue was photographed in October 1940.[8] written by Bernard Hoffman, and published in the December 1940 edition.[9]

The newly added marquee in the 1940s.

During World War II, the Artcraft supported the domestic front of the war by conducting scrap metal drives and sponsoring War Bond drives and providing contributors with a free movie pass.[10][11] Trueman T. Rembusch hired architect Alden Miranda to draw up plans for a fresh look at the Artcraft. Work began on the art deco renovation in 1948 and finished with a new screen installment in 1953.[12] The art deco renovation included streamlining the whole front façade and lobby. Crews installed neon lights, reflective mirror tile, and rounded every 90° angle in the building. The new marquee included a waterfall-light pattern as well as multiple illuminated lines.[13] The renovation ended with the orchestra pit being filled with sand and concrete and with a new curved screen being mounted to the stage floor. These projects changed the trajectory of Artcraft away from live events and toward primarily showing movies.

The auditorium of the Artcraft following the art deco renovation.

The Artcraft remained the only operating theater in Franklin during the 1960s-2000.

The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the introduction of multiplex theaters across the United States. Kerasotes Theatres began plans to build a multiplex in Franklin. Michael Rembusch decided that his mono-plex could not compete with a multiplex so he built Canary Creek Cinemas in Franklin to out-compete the Kerasotes planned theater. Rembusch decided he could not operate two theatres in the same city made the decision to close and sell the Artcraft. The Artcraft showed Gone with the Wind as its last movie after operating continuously for 78 years in May 2000.[14]

Bob Schofield, a local businessman and owner of the Willard Restaurant, bought the Artcraft with hopes of attracting a younger generation to come back to the downtown area. He operated an ice cream shop, hosted concerts, and began an under-21 dance club.[15] In May 2001, during one dance club night the southwest portion of the auditorium's ceiling collapsed.[16] After repairing the collapse, a brief period of normal activity returned. Structural engineers condemned the building for electrical and structural reasons in August 2003. Unable to launch a massive campaign to repair the Artcraft, Bob Schofield agreed to Franklin Heritage Inc.'s offer to buy the Artcraft.[17]

Franklin Heritage, Inc. Restoration

[edit]

In 2001, the historic preservation group Franklin Heritage, Inc. (FHI). decided to start renting the Artcraft to provide extra funds for restoration work and upkeep. Franklin Heritage, Inc.'s "Classic Film on a Classic Screen" campaign started on September 13, 2001 with a showing of From Here to Eternity.[18] The patriotic film depicting America under attack at Pearl Harbor resonated with the recently shocked patrons following the terrorist attacks of September 11th. FHI continued to rent the building one Thursday and later one weekend a month.

After purchasing the Artcraft with the support of the Johnson County Community Foundation, FHI began their "Marquee Project" of restoring the Artcraft to the height of its art deco style. FHI launched a $500,000 campaign to renovate the building.[19] In 2006, FHI received a state historic preservation grant towards the restoration of the theater.[14] The restoration of the Artcraft occurs in tangent with other preservation projects that FHI undertakes. The Artcraft celebrated its 100th anniversary on November 1, 2022.

Today the theater hosts movie showings of classic films that are 10 years old or older. The staff pick a wide selection of films that are iconic, that are well made, that are cult-classics, and that they think people should see. The Artcraft partners with many local and regional organizations to bring the best programming to the area including its long-standing run of Heartland International Film Festival's "Best of the Fest" events.[20]

Architecture

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The building includes a full stage and orchestra pit originally intended for vaudeville performances. The Artcraft was built in the neoclassical style and did not originally have a marquee. A set of two original stage flats in a forest motif are still housed backstage. The theater was purchased by Trueman Rembusch in 1936, who facilitated the theaters first renovation in 1936. In 1948, it underwent a second renovation in the Art Deco style that is representative of American movie theaters.[21]

Awards and news

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Artcraft Theatre". Heritage Travel. Indiana Landmarks. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  2. ^ ""The Microbe of Love"". The Franklin Evening Star. November 21, 1922. p. 4.
  3. ^ "Center Grove High School Presents". The Franklin Evening Star. April 9, 1923. p. 3.
  4. ^ "Artcraft to Enter Ranks of "Talkies"". The Franklin Evening Star. October 26, 1929. p. 3.
  5. ^ "Artcraft Theatre", Cinema Treasures
  6. ^ "Work Continues on Air Cooling System". The Franklin Evening Star. June 21, 1935. p. 5.
  7. ^ Johnson, M. L. "Beezer" (1996). Franklin: A Pictorial History (1st ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: G. Bradley Publishing, Inc. p. 99. ISBN 978-0943963525.
  8. ^ "Life Takes Pictorial Record of Saturday in Franklin". The Franklin Evening Star. October 14, 1940. p. 1.
  9. ^ James Guimond, American Photography and the American Dream, Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1991, pp. 160-161
  10. ^ "We Saw Today". The Franklin Evening Star. October 23, 1942. p. 4.
  11. ^ "Special Show in Bond Drive". The Franklin Evening Star. January 28, 1944. p. 1.
  12. ^ "New Wide Screen Being Installed at Theater Here". The Franklin Evening Star. September 30, 1953. p. 1.
  13. ^ "Theater Marquee Now in Operation". The Franklin Evening Star. April 8, 1948. p. 1.
  14. ^ a b Malia Savarino, "DHPA Awards 21 Preservation and Archeology Grants", Preserving Indiana, Fall/Winter 2006, p. 4, accessed 18 Aug 2010[permanent dead link]
  15. ^ "Artcraft's Second Act Looks to Have Promising Future". The Daily Journal. June 1, 2000. p. 4.
  16. ^ "Collapse Shouldn't Stop the Artcraft's Momentum". The Daily Journal. May 3, 2001. p. 4.
  17. ^ Hoskins, Michael (February 16, 2004). "Projecting a Better Future". The Daily Journal. p. 1.
  18. ^ Hall, Scott (September 11, 2001). "Artcraft Theater Comes to Life with Classics". The Daily Journal. p. 17.
  19. ^ Beaty, Candace. "Group to restore Artcraft Theatre in Franklin for live performances". Indiana Economic Digest. Daily Journal of Johnson County. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  20. ^ "1959 Ben-Hur Screening at Historic Artcraft Theatre". General Lew Wallace Study & Museum. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  21. ^ "The Historic Artcraft Theatre/Franklin Heritage, Inc". Members. Franklin Chamber of Commerce. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  22. ^ Hoffert, Jess (December 15, 2014). "4 Favorite Restored Small-Town Cinemas". Midwest Living. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
  23. ^ "Have You Visited Indiana's Best Main Street?". Visit Indiana. December 8, 2021.
  24. ^ "Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)". Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
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