Fountain Square Theatre

The Fountain Square Theatre is a theater in Indianapolis, Indiana that now houses restaurants, bars, a hotel, duckpin bowling, as well as the original theater. Construction of the building was completed on Friday, May 4, 1928, with an original capacity of 1,500. It hosted a variety of entertainment including moving pictures and live vaudeville shows which included a full orchestra pit and Marr-Colton organ. The Theatre had its official opening on Saturday, May 5, 1928, and was noted for its Italian themed interior.^[1] Fountain Square Recreation, a bowling alley and billiard hall, was located on the fourth floor.^[2] Frank Baldwin Hunter of Indianapolis was the architect.

Fountain Square Theatre
General information
Coordinates	39.7521°N 86.1396°W / 39.7521; -86.1396
Opened	May 4th, 1928
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Frank Baldwin Hunter

Closures and restoration

By 1957 the fourth-floor bowling alley closed followed by the theatre closing in 1960. Following the closure of the theatre, Woolworth's moved into the ground floor, but closed by the end of the 1960s.^[2]

In 1993 Linton Calvert purchased the building for $600,000 and started restoring it. Calvert was interesting in the building due to its past housing a bowling alley. Once renovated, he installed a duckpin bowling alley with original 1930's equipment that he had found in Columbia City, Indiana.^[3] In 2017 a Chicago-based real estate firm, North Park Ventures LLC, purchased the building from Calvert for an undisclosed amount. Calvert was allowed to keep ownership of the businesses in the building.^[4] In 2022 Calvert sold all six businesses to local wedding venue operators.^[5]

References

1. Hickman, Walter (May 4, 1928). "FOUNTAIN SQUARE THEATER IS GRAND". The Indianapolis Times. p. 21. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
2. "History". Fountain Square Indy. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
3. Lynch, Amy (September 25, 2015). "Cool Job: Linton Calvert helped rebuild Fountain Square". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
4. Olson, Scott (November 9, 2017). "Longtime owner of Fountain Square Theatre sells building". Indianapolis Business Journal. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
5. Triplett, Divine (Jul 15, 2022). "Wedding venue operator purchases 6 businesses in Fountain Square Theatre building". WISHTV. Retrieved April 25, 2023.