The Lafayette Theatre located at 600 Main St. opened September 1, 1938, with the film “Four’s A Crowd.”. A seating capacity of 1,252 the single screen theatre showed films up to the 1990s before closing. Negelected for several years the building underwent a renovation in 2003. Today the space is used for private parties, wrestling events, live musical performances and the occassional "dinner and a movie" night.
Fun fact: The Lafayette Theatre replaced the Family Theatre which was one of the first spaces to show moving pictures in Indiana. The Family Theatre was torn down in 1935 though the back wall remains within the Lafayette Theatre. The Family Theatre is pictured on the postcard above. Additional photos can be found here.
More info on the history and renovation of the Lafayette Theatre can be found here and here.
Additional photos.
Photo by David Harmon
Memories from my sister:
ReplyDelete"My first memory of going to the movies was with mom , Chris and grandma at the Lafayette Theater on Main Street. We would walk downtown and see a movie and if we were lucky we would stop at McCords Candy Shop.
I don't recall what movie I saw there but I remember they had people dressed up as the characters from the movie that would walk around the theater. They also had intermission half way through. The screen would show dancing popcorn, soda and candy.
I also remember seeing the movie E.T. at the theater that used to be in the Tippecanoe Mall. After the movie they had a table set up that sold memorablia pins and other E.T items. I got a HUGE E.T. button and thought is was the best thing ever."
From Marissa Townsend- "My mom said she saw her first movie at the Lafayette Theater. The movie was Jaws and she went with her brother and the Fortner family. Back then, they didn't have a lot of money so they went to the pop machine and snuck in their own. When they got past the ticket taker without being caught they were super excited, so excited in fact, that one of them dropped their soda and it rolled all they way down the long ramp and smacked against the wall. Luckily, it was pitch black, but it was dead silent so everyone heard the comotion. They were so afraid about getting caught that just took their seat and pretended it wasn't theirs. I can relate to this story. Over the summer, I went on a date with this guy at Wabash Landing 9. We decided to sneak in the giant candy bars so we didn't have to buy anything. I don't like to carry a purse, but he thought it would be a good idea to hide one of them in my jacket. As we were walking in, i forgot about the giant candy bar and it fell on the sidewalk. I tried to get him to stop and pick it up but he grabbed my hand and told me to forget about it. I guess my point with both stories is movie theaters change, but peoples pride never will."
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