The mission of the BCT is to develop the Theater as a high quality and widely accessible community resource and performance venue operated in a fiscally responsible manner.

Listed 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 and bands played on the bandstand. Hoagy Carmichael led “The Collegians” here from 1925 to 1928.

In 1933 the Indiana was severely damaged by a fire that gutted much of the building. An investigation into the cause of the blaze was inconclusive, however the Vonderschmitt family remained undaunted and rebuilt the theater the following year.

Reconstruction created a new look for the theater, both inside and out, including the addition of the “dogbone” marquee that remains a Bloomington landmark to this day. Movies soon dominated the activity at the theater, and the Indiana continued to be a popular and memorable destination for decades to come.

In 1975, the Vonderschmitt family 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.

In December of 1995, 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 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 Buskirk-Chumley has become the primary venue for the Lotus World Music Festival, Indiana University’s African American Arts Institute, Cardinal Stage Company, and Jazz from Bloomington. National acts such as Andrew Bird, Joshua Redman, Keb Mo, Regina Spektor, Arlo Guthrie, The Acting Company, Richard Thompson, Cowboy Junkies, 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 2006 the Theater played host to more than 260 public performances making it one of the busiest community theaters in the country.

To become a member you can download and print our membership form and mail it to:

BCT Management, Inc.
PO Box 1323
Bloomington, IN 47402

Please read how you can support the BCT through sponsorship, volunteering, or purchasing program or on-screen advertising. To download our pledge form click here. ( Adobe Acrobat 5.0 is required ) .

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 27th, 2008 at 1:55 pm and is filed under Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.