Old National Centre
Murat Theatre | |
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| Former names |
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| Address | 502 N. New Jersey St. Indianapolis,Indiana United States |
| Coordinates | 39°46′27″N86°9′4″W/ 39.77417°N 86.15111°W |
| Owner | Murat Shriners of theAncient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine |
| Operator | Live Nation |
| Capacity | 2,500(Murat Theatre) 2,000(Egyptian Room) 600(Corinthian Hall) |
| Current use | music venue |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1909 |
| Architect | Oscar D. Bohlen |
| Website | |
| oldnationalcentre | |
TheOld National Centre,formerly known as theMurat Shrine Templeand theMurat Shrine Center,is located at North and New Jersey streets inIndianapolis,Indiana, and is owned by the Murat Shriners of theAncient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.The theater portion of the building is now known as theMurat Theatre at Old National Centreor simply theMurat Theatreand houses the oldest extant stage house indowntown Indianapolis.It is the only Shrine Center in the world with a name of French origin and is the largest Shrine Center inNorth America.[1][2]
History
[edit]In 1882, five Freemasons wanted a Shrine organization in Indianapolis. They joined the Shrine Temple atCincinnati, Ohio,and had that temple's help in establishing an Indianapolis temple. The local organization of the Shrine, called the Indianapolis Shriners, was given its charter on June 4, 1884. The first potentate wasJohn T. Brush,who served as such from 1884 to 1897.Lew WallaceandThomas Taggartwere among their first Ceremonial Class, held in 1885. By the end of the first year, there were 105 members. The Indianapolis Valley ofScottish Ritegave them the Townsley and Wiggans "Pork House" for their meetings.[1][3]
The Murat Temple was built in 1909 by the William P. Jungclaus Company using the designs of Murat ShrinerOscar D. Bohlen,with Middle Eastern andEgyptianstylings that were fitting for a building intended for Shriners. Its namesake is theNubian DesertoasisBir Murat,which was named for theFrenchmanJoachim Murat,one ofNapoleon's generals in his Egyptian campaign.[1][3]
The Murat Shrine gave theIndianapolis Zooits firstcameland established the500 Festival Parade.
The Murat Shrine is primarily known in Indianapolis for its theater, which was built in 1910. In its early days it featured Broadway plays and even a 1932 speech byWinston Churchill.Between 1948 and 1963, it was the onlyroad showvenuein Indianapolis. BeforeClowes Memorial Hallopened in 1963, it was the home of theIndianapolis Symphony Orchestra;the orchestra survived theGreat Depressiondue only to the nominal fee the Temple charged the orchestra for using the theater. The orchestra made recordings withFabien Sevitzkyin the theater forRCA Victorbetween 1941 and 1953. TheIndianapolis Opera Companybriefly used the facility during the 1980s.
In 1984, the Murat Shriners had the second largest membership of all Shrine temples in the world. In 1988, a fire broke out in the 1968 addition, injuring 15 firefighters when a portion of the addition collapsed. However, there was relatively little damage to the structure.[1]
Construction
[edit]The edifice is themed afterMoorishmosques found in the Middle East and Egypt. Features of the building includestained-glasswindows,terra cottatrim,minarets,and brown and yellow brick banding. A 208-foot (63 m) tall tower[4]is at the southeast corner. An addition to the temple was designed to blend with the existing structure. The Egyptian-themed auditorium, added as part of the 1922 addition, had already been planned before the discovery of the18th dynastyPharaohTutankhamun's tomb, which coincided with the opening of the auditorium.[1]
Facilities
[edit]The main sections of Murat Shrine are the 2,000-seat concert hall and the 2,500-seat performing arts theater. Today, there are nine areas for hosting events. The Egyptian Room can hold 2,000 people for a standing cocktail reception. The smaller areas are the Corinthian Hall, the Corinthian Annex, the Corinthian Meeting Room, the Great Hall, the Imperial Lounge (formerly the "Crowne Room" ), and various lobby areas.[5][6]
See also
[edit]- List of music venues
- List of attractions and events in Indianapolis
- List of tallest buildings in Indianapolis § Other structures
- List of Masonic buildings in Indiana
- Moorish Revival architecture
- House of Blues
References
[edit]- ^abcdeBodenhamer, David (1994).The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis.Indiana University Press.pp. 1026–1027.ISBN0253112494.
- ^"Indianapolis Bragging Rights".Indianapolis Downtown Inc. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-04-11.Retrieved2013-03-04.
- ^abPaul Page."The Great Parade of the Nobles of Murat".MuratShrine.org.Retrieved2013-03-04.
- ^"Old National Centre".Emporis.STR Germany GmbH. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021.RetrievedAugust 26,2022.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^"Old National Centre".VisitIndy.Retrieved2013-03-04.
- ^"Catering & Hosting".MuratShrine.org.Retrieved2013-03-04.
External links
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