Now in the National Register of Historic Places, the Indiana Theater – or simply “the Indiana,†as it is known to Bloomington residents – was built in 1922 as a movie and vaudeville theater by Harry and Nova Vonderschmitt. In its early years, the theater had a pipe organ for movie accompaniment; bands also played on the bandstand, for movies and contests. Hoagy Carmichael led “The Collegians†here from 1925 to 1928. Movies soon dominated the activity at the theater, and the Indiana continued to be a popular and memorable destination for decades.
In 1975, Nova Vonderschmitt sold the theater to Kerasotes Theatres, Inc. Kerasotes altered the interior, blocking off the original balcony to add an upstairs screen, and operated the theater until 1995. Most Bloomington residents have fond memories of evenings spent enthralled by the big screen.
In December of 1995, Kerasotes gave 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 Buskirk-Chumley Theater in honor of the local family’s generosity to the project.
Beautifully restored and outfitted with state-of-the-art technical equipment, the theater is currently managed by BCT Management, Inc., a private non-profit organization with a volunteer Board of Directors. The mission of the Buskirk-Chumley Theater is to develop the Theater as a high quality and widely accessible community resource and performance venue operated in a fiscally responsible manner.
The theater has become the primary venue for the Lotus World Music Festival, Indiana University’s African American Arts Institute, and Jazz from Bloomington. National acts such as Andrew Bird, Joshua Redman, Keb Mo, The Acting Company, Richard Thompson, Iris Dement, Rickie Lee Jones, Indigo Girls, Umphrey's McGee, Greg Brown, Amy Ray, Gillian Welch, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe and John Mellencamp have graced the stage. In 2005 the Theater played host to more than 260 public performances making it one of the busiest theaters in the country.
More information is available at www.buskirkchumley.org
