A free celebration will be open to the public on Feb. 3 to commemorate the Buskirk-Chumley Theater’s history as a renovated silent movie house, according to a press release.
The event will include a film screening, a re-opening of an exhibit dedicated to the history of the building, and a presentation about the new Bloomington Arts & Entertainment History Project.
The film to be shown is “Sherlock Jr.,” a silent Buster Keaton movie, and it will be accompanied by live music. According to the release, the film, which was released in 1924, exemplifies the era in which the Buskirk-Chumley building first opened in 1922 as a silent movie house called the Indiana Theatre.
The Textillery History Gallery has been revised and expanded and is now focused on the social influence of movie theaters and the specific history of the Buskirk-Chumley building. Material concerning the desegregation of theater and the role of immigrants in local businesses has also been added.
The Bloomington Arts & Entertainment History Project is an initiative to honor the town’s history in the arts and is aimed specifically at third-grade students studying local history.
The event will take place at 5:30 p.m. in the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.
Maia Rabenold
