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Curtain call: Indianapolis' Phoenix Theatre preparing to vacate home of 30 years

Posted at 6:13 AM, Apr 26, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-26 06:13:30-04

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The Phoenix Theatre will celebrate its past and future this Saturday, April 28,  as it moves into a new facility in downtown Indianapolis. 

The theater is relocating from its current location at 749 N. Park Avenue to a new location at the corner of Illinois and Walnut streets. 

But this isn't the first move for the Phoenix Theatre. 

Before the curtain raised for its first act in 1983, the theater held an open house at its original home in the Ambassador Building at the corner of Pennsylvania and Ninth streets in downtown Indianapolis.

 

Organizers used the event to raise awareness for the performing arts in Indianapolis. They also hoped to raise $30,000 to renovate the space for the 90-seat theater.  

The Phoenix Theatre's first production in the Ambassador Building, Warp, opened in Nov. 1983.

 

Five years later, the Phoenix Theatre relocated to the former St. Stephen's Missionary Baptist Church on Park Avenue in Indy's Chatham-Arch neighborhood.

 

At the time, Indianapolis Mayor Bill Hudnut lauded the move saying, "We want everyone to know that we appreciate the way in which a major arts institution like the Phoenix Theatre can contribute to the stabilization of neighborhoods and the economic development of our community." 

The Park Avenue location would serve as the theater's home for three decades. 

The next act for the Phoenix Theatre will begin on April 28, at 3 p.m.  

Organizers are inviting community members to gather at the Park Avenue location for a presentation and eventual procession along the Cultural Trail to the new facility at Illinois and Walnut streets. The event is free and open to the public.    

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