ARTS
Celebrate Buskirk-Chumley Theater’s 100th Birthday with Special Events and Festivals
Bloomington’s Community Theater turns 100 years old this December. As a mainstay of downtown Bloomington for the past century, the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, formerly the “Indiana,” has taken many forms, changed hands, and been inextricably woven into the fabric of this community. The former Indiana Theatre was built in 1922 as a silent movie house by Harry and Nova Vonderschmitt. On opening night, the theater welcomed a crowd of more than 1,300 people who lined up along Kirkwood Avenue to see “The Storm,” starring House Peters. The Indiana quickly became a popular Bloomington nightspot, and eventually became home to legendary performances by Hoagy Carmichael and his band. In 1975, the Vonderschmitt family sold the Indiana to Kerasotes Theatres, Inc. who operated it until 1995. In December of that year, Kerasotes donated the theater to the Bloomington Area Arts Council (BAAC) for use as a performing arts center. Garnering support from the entire community, the BAAC received donations from many prominent citizens, and the “Indiana” was renamed the BuskirkChumley Theater in honor of the local family’s generosity to the project. Since the grand reopening in 1999, the Buskirk-Chumley Theater has been host to a rich variety of films, guest lecturers, and live shows including performances by Arlo Guthrie, John Mellencamp, Richard Thompson, The Indigo Girls, Cowboy Junkies, Andrew Bird, Regina Spektor and many more. The BCT has also become the primary venue for the Lotus World Music Festival, Indiana University’s African American Arts Institute, and Jazz from Bloomington. “Since the Indiana Theatre opened as a movie theater in 1922, it has been a place for the Bloomington community to gather and 94
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The former Indiana Theatre was built in 1922 as a silent movie house by Harry and Nova Vonderschmitt. On opening night, the theater welcomed a crowd of more than 1,300 people who lined up along Kirkwood Avenue to see “The Storm,” starring House Peters. PHOTOS: Buskirk-Chumley Theater
share artistic experiences together,” says BCT Executive Director Jonah Crismore. “Just as the theater transformed from the Indiana to the Buskirk-Chumley, so did our programming by offering live performances with film. But the core of what we do at the BCT is still providing a nexus and home for the arts in Bloomington, and the community can experience them as one audience.”
In honor of their 100th birthday, the Buskirk-Chumley Theater is kicking off a yearlong community celebration this August that will end summer of 2023. This celebration has been dubbed the BCT100 Neon Centennial, named for the beloved dog bone sign and marquee that have illuminated Kirkwood Ave with its neon lights for decades. Right in the middle of all this excitement will
