Youngs Airdome 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 Youngs Airdome Theater located at 321-327 Ohio Street 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 SYoungs Airdome Theaterhen Youngs Airdome Theater opened at 321-327 Ohio St. in Terre Haute on May 27, 1907, it was hailed as the first open-air theater east of the Mississippi River. The distinctive 13,500-square-foot arena was the creation of Samuel M. Young, owner of a hotel at 202 Wabash Ave., known during the years he was the proprietor as the Wabash Avenue Hotel, The Melville, The Stag and The Indois. Young, whose father founded the Vigo County community of Youngstown, was associated with show business throughout his adult life. A playwright, he was married to Ida Smock, one of the four Melville Sisters, Terre Haute vaudeville stars. Youngs sister-in-law Rose Melville was known worldwide as Sis Hopkins, a character Young created in his play Zeb. Roofless theaters were becoming popular on the West coast in 1907 but had not yet been embraced in the East. Youngs Airdome was unique, purportedly the first airdome theater in the U.S. offering a circus ring next to a 46-foot by 50-foot platform stage and bandstand. There were 1,600 comfortable seats with space to add 400 more if needed. Patrons at matinees were protected from the sun by large sun shades designed by the Hanley Tent & Awning Co. Box seats with opera chairs and special decorative awnings also were installed. Local sign painter John W. Ebel designed the exterior. Catering to ladies and children, Young announced his intention to offer seven vaudeville and circus acts every day, seven days a week, with the bill of fare changing each Monday. A matinee was presented daily for ten cents. The nightly admission charge was 25 cents. Terre Hautes popular Ringgold Band performed at every show. The grand opening program featured eight exceptional acts: Professor Sunlin and King Bill, the only trained bull in the world; Schepps Pony, Dog and Monkey Circus; Mademoiselle Marie and Mizpah, her high school riding horse; Unita and Paul, comedy gymnasts; Nichols and Smith, comedy cyclists; Leonzo, the juggling butcher; Mr. and Mrs. John T. Powers in The Players, spotlighted by Mrs. Powers singing Im Tying the Leaves So They Wont Come Down, her 1907 hit; and a special appearance by Klein, Ott Bros. & Nicholson, a musical act heading for an engagement in San Francisco. Among the acts appearing during the second week were The Great (Rudolph) Santell, Americas Hercules, and 14-year-old animal trainer Millie Mabel. Young remodeled the theater in 1908, retaining the open-air concept but adding a roof supported by steel girders 15 feet above the outside walls, and changed the name to Youngs Garden Airdome. Competition materialized. Harringtons Airdome opened at the southeast corner of Fifth and Cherry streets, later successively named Alberts Airdome and the Lois Airdome. In 1914 Young engaged Terre Haute architect W. Homer Floyd to revise the facade of the theater using vitrified brick and incorporating two storefronts. The following year, he abandoned the airdome to accommodate Steinhart-Greiger, an automobile dealership. Some exterior walls of the theater are retained in the current Modesitt Building at 321 Ohio.WAlways Close to HomeI L L I A N A www.firNt-CnlH eT om E C OFDIC C E R T S E R I E S L U s o in .c I M MEMBER N Sponsored by First Financial BankFirst in a Series of Friday ConcertsARTSAug.25FREE LIVE MUSIC Bring your lunch and enjoy guitarist BRENT McPIKEN o o n to 1:30 p.m. Crossroads Plaza Stage(in front of parking garage on Wabash)
Origin:	2006-08-23
Created By:	McCormick, Mike
Publisher:	Terre Haute Tribune-Star
Source:	http://indianamemory.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/vchs/id/1542
Collection:	Vigo County Historical Society
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/
Copyright:	Copyright Undetermined
Subjects:	Open-air theaters Circuses & shows Vaudeville shows Business & Industry Social Life

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