Garfield Theater (Harmony Hall)

Prior to 1937, this lot contained a structure that was once an auto repair and sales business, a livery, and, in 1906, housed the E.V. Sinclair and Sons undertaker business. Later, the C.B. Thomas undertaker and transfer was located here before moving to 2200 North 13th Street in the late 1920s. Walter Phillips owned the building and had the structure demolished with plans to build this theater.

At one time, 12 Points had three theaters –the Swan at 1218 Lafayette, the Royal at 1258 Lafayette, and the Palace at 1263 Lafayette. By 1930 only the Swan remained.

The Garfield Theater was a busy place for decades. Things changed when it was sold. Not only was the name changed to Village Cinema, but the genre of movie went from family friendly films to adult X-rated films. After about a decade of that the Village Cinema went back to presenting family films with only one dollar admission. Unfortunately, the business closed in December 1984.

In 1986, the Banks of the Wabash Chorus, which was the local chapter of SPEBSQSA*, purchased the building as their headquarters. The group voted to change the name of the building to Harmony Hall. The Banks of the Wabash Chorus won many awards in competitions throughout the 1980s. Along with the men’s chorus, the ladies’ groups were known as Sweet Adelines. Many shows, events and performances were enjoyed by audiences at Harmony Hall.

The Garfield Theater opened on Tuesday, October 12, 1937, with J.B. Stine the proprietor. The MGM romantic comedy “Personal Property” was the first movie shown. It featured Jean Harlow and Robert Taylor.

As years passed, that organization’s membership began to decline due to several factors, and the group could not provide the maintenance and upkeep for the building. The building was empty and unused for many years.

Members of the 12 Points Revitalization decided this piece of the historic neighborhood was worth saving. It remains a key architectural feature for this area and rouses memories for area residents. Through the efforts of interested people, the 12 Points Revitalization Initiative, Inc. acquired the property in April 2024. Since then, the group has worked to clean out and stabilize it to prepare it for its next exciting chapter.