Southern Indiana theater to reopen after fire

WASHINGTON, Ind. -- A theater standing since 1881 was expected to reopen in a little more than two weeks after an electrical fire damaged sections of it.\nThe Sept. 18 electrical fire was mostly contained in the attic of the 124-year-old Indiana Theatre, although there was some smoke and water damage, and firefighters had to cut a hole in the roof to access the fire.\nIt is scheduled to reopen Nov. 11, theater manager Ralph Chattin said.\n"I'm ready to be open now. I'm tired of waiting," he said as he examined the work being done in the building last week.\nChattin was not sure of the exact amount of damage, but it was in the high thousands, he said. The new screen alone could cost as much as $30,000, he said. But the theater's insurance has been extremely cooperative, agreeing to pay for nearly every repair, he said.\nOn Monday, a local disaster restoration company started cleaning and repainting the entire theater. Along with other companies specializing in electrical work, for example, they will make the building the same as it was before the fire, Chattin said.\nSometime after it reopens, the theater will get new carpet, he said.\nThe theater in the city halfway between Bloomington and Evansville opened as the Grand Opera House in 1881. In 1923, it became the Paul A. Kennedy store for cigars and newspapers.\nIn 1927, it was called the Grand Theater, and in 1928 became the Indiana Theatre.\nIt is still called that today though it is owned and operated by Kerasotes Theatres, a developer and owner of theaters throughout the Midwest.