Hoosier Theatre marks century of movie magic but may hit the market in a few weeks

Ushers escorted movie patrons to their seats at grand movie palaces like the Paramount, Parthenon, State, Voge, Indiana and Palace. Searchlights raked the night sky outside. Signs went up all over town advertising the latest feature films. Sometimes movie stars would even make an appearance to promote their latest work.

The facades were ornate, the lobbies lined with plush red carpet and thousands of dressed-up movie-goers filled the palatial theaters.

But the multiplexes ultimately replaced almost all the grand movie palaces of yesteryear in Northwest Indiana.

The Hoosier Theatre in Whiting has soldiered on alone.

The extravagant movie palace with a pipe organ at 1335 119th St. in downtown Whiting opened in 1924 and is marking its 100th anniversary this year.

“We’re the sole surviving single-screen movie theater in Northwest Indiana,” owner John Katris said. “We’re the only one left.” 

The Hoosier Theatre still shows first-run feature films but may not be much longer.

Katris is looking to retire. He plans to put the Hoosier Theatre up for sale in a few weeks. Katris, whose parents owned the Voge Theatre in East Chicago and who restored the Hoosier Theatre and reopened it 33 years ago, expects it likely would return to its roots as a vaudeville stage and be transformed into a performing arts venue.

“It has a legitimate stage, an orchestra pit, dressing rooms and a balcony,” he said. “It’s the last of the vaudeville theaters in the Region. They’re all gone. We’re the sole survivor.”

Katris was looking last year to turn it over to a nonprofit group that planned to transform it into a live entertainment venue that would host film festivals, holiday screenings of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” standup comedy, concerts, theater and variety shows. But the plans fell apart.

“I was talking to the city and the not-for-profit but it never materialized,” he said. 

The Hoosier Theatre carried on. Then Longtime Hoosier Theatre manager Joe Pranaitis died this summer of a heart attack at the age of 45 years old.

“He was a dedicated young man with an eye for detail,” Katris said. “He also was a talented sci-fi writer. Everybody loved him. He started on cleanup duty, became an usher, then worked in concessions and eventually became assistant manager. He was the voice and face of the Hoosier Theatre. Everybody knew what a good job he did. He was like my little brother. I just miss him and think about him all the time.”

Katris has continued to run it as a movie theater but increasingly wants to retire.

“I’m going to put the building up for sale in the next few weeks. I want to find the right buyer. It’s completely operational. It’s turnkey,” he said. “There’s a lot of history. It’s a gem of a theater.”

The building also generates additional income outside of the movie screenings. It includes eight apartments upstairs and three additional commercial storefronts, one of which is home to Erie Insurance and two of which are currently used for storage.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Hoosier Theatre boasts a six-rank Kimball organ, a high vaulted ceiling, ornamental plaster reliefs, a towering screen with plush red curtains and 600 seats. Its ornate terracotta facade and brightly lit vintage marquee are staples of the 119th Street streetscape in downtown Whiting. Photos and paintings of the theater are commonly exhibited at Studio 659 down the street.

In the early days, W.C. Fields, the Three Stooges, Rin Tin Tin and Amos & Andy all performed there. Red Grange threw footballs off the roof while selling war bonds during World War II.

Balaban and Katz, a prominent entertainment company that owned several theaters around Chicagoland, used it as a test market.

“It was a tryout for the acts on their circuit,” Katris said. “Once talking pictures arrived, it focused on movies. It showed movies like ‘Gone with the Wind,’ ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ ‘Patton,’ anything big and major. It showed great musical comedies, dramas, action, all the major movies.”

Shorts and newsreels were often shown before the movies back in the early 20th century. The films usually had intermissions.

The Hoosier Theatre suffered a fire in the 1980s and was vacant until Katris decided to restore it. His parents long ran the 914-seat Voge Theatre in East Chicago, which burned down in an arson in the 1970s. Katris transferred the projector and other historic artifacts over to the Hoosier Theatre when he was renovating it and looking to get it back open.

“I was just in elementary school when they ran it but still loved it and had fond memories,” he said. “I got projectors, popcorn machines, drinking fountains, decor and aisle lights out of storage when I was restoring it and saving it from the wrecking back,” he said. “We incorporated it into the Hoosier Theatre. Some of it came from the Uptown in Chicago.”

A design-build contractor by trade, he was an architectural buff who wanted to save the building. Eight-foot-long icicles hung from the bare bricks when he took it over. The heating and electrical systems dated all the way back to the 1920s.

“I was young and ambitious back then,” he said. “If you showed me that theater now I would say you are crazy and wouldn’t touch it with a 10-foot pole. There was plaster falling off the wall. The roof was leaky. It took a lot of hard work, love and sweat to bring it back.

He did extensive work to salvage the building with the help of a small crew and reopened in 1997 with red-carpet fanfare he likened to the Academy Awards. It routinely sold out movies like “Good Will Hunting” when it first reopened. An organist would play on the weekends.

“I got a call from a booker in 1998 saying I was the talk of Hollywood and had the third highest-grossing single screen in the country,” he said. “It was that way for a good five years.”

But after the novelty wore off people gravitated more to multiplexes. The Hoosier Theatre went from being a regional draw to mainly a neighborhood theater that found audiences with family films and superhero movies. With only a single screen, Katris had to be careful about what movie he picked.

“If it was a bomb, we’d be stuck with it for two or three weeks,” he said. “That’s what killed single-screen theaters.”

After the pandemic, more and more people have stayed home to stream instead of going out to the movies.

“Streaming is the way of movies now. Even the megaplexes aren’t doing well,” he said. “I believe a performing arts center will be the next chapter. It could have ballets, Shakespeare, anything you can do on a stage. It could be a good mix with maybe classic, art and independent films. We had a comedy show and concert here that did well. It will take a promoter to take it to the next level. I’m ready to retire. Someone needs to take it to the next chapter.”

He said he hopes to keep it on the market long enough to find the right buyer.

“It brings life to downtown Whiting,” he said. “At night it can get desolate after business hours. It becomes a ghost town. It brings a little bit of life. People grab dinner or drinks. Hopefully, there’s a good organization that will take it to the next level because I’m ready to retire.”

Anyone who’s interested can email [email protected], visit hoosiertheatre.com or call (219) 659-0567.