St. Clair Theatre
802 Fort Wayne Avenue,
Indianapolis,
IN
46204
802 Fort Wayne Avenue,
Indianapolis,
IN
46204
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The St. Clair Theatre was opened on November 24, 1923. It was still open in 1957.
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mikemovies
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
There is a photograph of the Saint Clair Theatre on the Indiana Historical Society’s web page:
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Joan Hostetler
.com
When I lived with my grandmother on Delaware Ave. in the 1940s I used to go to the St. Claire a lot. I remember seeing two war films WAKE ISLAND and BATAAN there, and walked out on one of them just before the ending because I couldn’t stand to see the Americans lose to the cruel Japanese attackers. had nightmares back then of the Nazis and Japanese conquering America.
Lived on N Alabama, two blocks north of the St Clair Theatre in 1949. Remember the Judy Canova Movies. Had lost touch through the years and it’s a blessing that there are people out there that still care. It means a lot!
This page at Historic Indianapolis features a 1941 Baist Real Estate Atlas map showing the wedge-shaped St. Clair Theatre building. There is also a photo of a 1946 traffic accident with the theater in the background.
Michael J. Duffecy originally operated the St. Clair Theatre. The November 22, 1923, issue of the Indianapolis News said that Duffecy would open the St. Clair Theatre on Saturday (November 24.)
On March 5, 1924, Variety said that Duffecy had sold the St. Clair and Oriental Theatres at Indianapolis to Joseph F. Smith. The St. Clair had been open for only a few months. Duffecy had operated the Oriental Theatre since 1918.
Some earlier references to Duffecy in the newspapers indicate that he was a saloon keeper in the early 20th century. Perhaps the prospect of prohibition drove him into the movie business.
The St. Clair Theatre was one of nine Indiana houses at which National Theatre Supply had recently installed a Walker Silver Sheet screen, according to The Film Daily of January 18, 1936. Having opened on November 24, 1923, the house would have been about twelve years old when the new screen was installed.