Fountain Theater

Wabash Valley profiles : a series of tributes to hometown heroes who have made a difference

Description:	One typed page including photograph; brief history of the Fountain Theater in Terre Haute, Indiana. WABASHP R OFIA hometown h heroes who h difference. A seriies of ttributes tto h f ib t t h have made a diff dVALLEYL E SFountain Theatererre Hautes longest running small downtown cinema venue, the Fountain Theater opened at 422 Wabash Ave. on July 19, 1911. The proprietor was Harry F. Prentice, the man who had brought The Fountain Theater at 422 Wabash Avenue circa 1933 the first moving picture theater to the city in 1904 by opening The Nickledom at 721 Wabash Ave. Ousted from that location when Crawford Fairbanks decided to build the Tribune Building to house offices of the Terre Haute Tribune, Prentice exerted extreme effort to restyle the 1875 Kleiser Building, which previously had housed only retail stores. Jeweler Glen C. Brown and sheet music dealer Edwin T. Hulman were the prior occupants. Among other things, Prentice installed a stage and powerful fans to cool the interior. At the entrance, he placed an electric neon fountain in action, which attracted ample attention. The Fountain, according to Prentices first ad, was The New Home of the Old Nickledom. An attractive tile mosaic floor installed just inside the theater entrance read Nickeldom, the common spelling of the word describing a five cent theater. The Fountain offered the most popular films daily from 1 to 6 p.m. and 7 to 11 p.m. On March 19, 1914, Prentice sold the theater to Frank J. Rembusch of Shelbyville, Ind., owner of three motion picture theaters in Indianapolis, two in Shelbyville and one in Lafayette. Rembusch hired Walter Beck as manager of the Fountain. Prentice was retained as projector operator. During the next three years several additional five cent cinema theaters opened in downtown Terre Haute, including The Savoy at 323 Wabash Ave., The Crescent at 681 Wabash Ave. and The Princess at 669 Wabash Ave. First-run motion picture theaters downtown in 1914 included the Grand Opera House at Seventh and Cherry streets, which concentrated on live productions, The Orpheum (formerly The Lyric) at 720-722 Wabash Ave., and The American at 817-819 Wabash Ave. Youngs Garden Theater at 323 Ohio St. and The Varieties at 729 Wabash Ave. were the chief downtown vaudeville houses until The Hippodrome held its grand opening on Feb. 15, 1915. In 1924 new proprietor Paul K. Peters renamed his business in the Kleiser Building The New Fountain Theater following a major facelift. Though management changed periodically, the Fountain Theater survived for more than four decades, graduating from silent films to talkies. In its later years it lured young teenagers on Saturday mornings with special film programs. When the Fountain closed in 1953, Harrys Variety Store--owned by the Hornstein family--was the initial tenant. Architect Ben Orman recently renovated 422 Wabash Ave., reinstalling its original 1875 storefront windows and uncovering the unique Nickeldom mosaic laid by Prentice, Terre Hautes cinema pioneer, 95 years ago.TAlways Close to Homewww.first-online.com MEMBER FDICYoull find First Financial Bank in these and other cities and towns near you: Terre Haute 238-6000 Brazil 443-4481 Rockville 765-569-3171 Clinton 832-3504 Sullivan 268-3331 Marshall, Illinois 217-826-6311 Robinson, Illinois 618-544-8666
Origin:	2006-08-03
Created By:	McCormick, Mike
Publisher:	Terre Haute Tribune-Star
Source:	http://indianamemory.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/vchs/id/1540
Collection:	Vigo County Historical Society
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/
Copyright:	Copyright Undetermined
Subjects:	Theaters Motion pictures Social Life Business & Industry

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