The 129-year-old Crump Theatre, closed because of safety hazards since early 2014, has made this year’s Indiana Landmarks 10 Most Endangered structures list.
The list, released Monday, is expected to give the Crump renewed statewide attention as the organization identifies and highlights Indiana structures that are in the most precarious of circumstances.
The Crump, owned by the Columbus Capital Foundation, has been for sale since 2015 at a general price of $200,000.
Indiana Landmarks, with a reputation for efforts to save significant structures statewide, also has helped with other buildings locally such as preservation efforts at North Christian Church.
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The Crump, 425 Third St., has been closed since January 2014. The Columbus Fire Department ruled it could not reopen until serious safety hazards, including fire hazards, could be corrected.
It was last regularly used for a variety of local concerts and other events organized by Rovene Quigley, who has been a tireless advocate for the building for years.
Hutch Schumaker of the Columbus Capital Foundation was heartened to see the building on the list because of the publicity it can generate to find a buyer or developer, he said.
“That’s my hope,” Schumaker said. “I see this as a really fortunate thing. Anytime you can draw added attention to how serious something is, then that’s a good thing.”
Local architect Louis Joyner has worked alongside the foundation on a variety of repair work for the Crump, including the roof and marquee, through the years. Joyner said that people have to realize what the city has in the form of the structure that many local residents have said should be saved.
“That theater features some of the best examples of streamline moderne or art-deco architecture in the state,” Joyner said. “We have a real architectural jewel here that you cannot replace.”
Two different studies in recent years have pegged the price of complete renovation, depending upon the building’s future use, at $11 million or more.
Joyner said he understood that people have been concerned in past years about whether a redone Crump could be self-sufficient. But he wonders why those concerns cannot be alleviated in the future by considering the building to be in the same category as public park or golf course.
A total of 85 of the Indiana Landmark’s 139 sites listed as endangered since the list began in 1991 are either now restored or no longer endangered, according to Mindi Woolman, Indiana Landmarks spokeswoman. Sixteen buildings that had been on the list have been lost in that time, she said.
“In our experience, it really does seem to raise positive awareness (about buildings),” Woolman said.
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In addition to the Crump Theatre in Columbus, the following buildings or areas are also on Indiana Landmarks Most Endangered list, released Monday:
- Church of the Holy Cross, 1401 E. Ohio St., Indianapolis
- Downtown Attica
- Mineral Springs Hotel, 124 S. Court St., Paoli
- Pulaski County Courthouse, 112 E. Main St., Winamac
- John Howe Mansion, Howe Military Academy
- Peru Circus Winter Quarters, 3076 E. Circus Lane, Peru
- Reid Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1004 N. A St.
- Cannelton Historic District
- Commandant’s Row, Indiana Veterans Home, West Lafayette
Source: Indiana Landmarks
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To learn more about Indiana Landmarks, visit indianalandmarks.org.
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