Embassy Theatre: Fort Wayne's 1928 Movie Palace, Its Organ and How to Visit |
From the 1928 Emboyd to a community-saved landmark with a famous pipe organ |
Few buildings in Fort Wayne carry as many memories as the Embassy Theatre on West Jefferson Boulevard.
Generations of locals have attended concerts, ballet, touring Broadway shows and Philharmonic performances there, and the theatre's own story is one of neighbors rolling up their sleeves to save something they loved.
This guide pulls together what is publicly listed about the building's history, its famous organ, tours and how to plan a visit.
A movie palace opens in 1928
According to its own history, the theatre opened on May 14, 1928, as the Emboyd Theatre.
It was built as a movie palace and vaudeville house, and it came complete with a Grande Page theatre pipe organ.
A seven-story, 250-room Indiana Hotel wrapped around the north and west sides of the building.
The first program, Cinema Treasures says, paired a film starring Richard Dix with vaudeville acts and a live orchestra.
According to a historical marker at the theatre, owner Clyde Quimby chose the name Emboyd in memory of his mother, Emma Boyd.
Cinema Treasures lists the original seating capacity at 2,970 and credits architects John Eberson and Alvin M. Strauss.
The marker adds that it was one of the first Fort Wayne buildings to be air conditioned.
The name changed to the Embassy Theatre on Nov. 12, 1952.
Saved by neighbors
As the years passed, movies alone could no longer keep the theatre going, and it faced the threat of demolition.
Cinema Treasures reports that the Embassy Theatre Foundation purchased the building in 1972 to save it from being turned into a parking lot.
The marker describes a volunteer effort that began in 1974, when area organ enthusiasts started a city-wide fundraising campaign.
The marker also credits everyday citizens with a hands-on effort to refurbish the entire building.
The theatre's own history says saving the building was only the beginning, because the real work of restoring it came afterward.
The theatre's own history says volunteers kept the building alive by buying coal with their own money to keep the pipes from freezing.
They also worked to fix a leaking roof and to clean coal dust from the terra-cotta walls and lobbies.
In 1975, the Embassy was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Since then, the marker notes, it has served as the community's principal theater facility, including as the Fort Wayne Philharmonic's main concert hall.
The building was renovated in the early 1990s for stage shows, according to Cinema Treasures, and its original look was recreated with carpet, curtains and light fixtures. |
 Ornate theater boxes with red velvet seating. Photo by Dmitry Romanoff on Pexels. Stock photo, for illustration only; not the Embassy Theatre. |
The Grande Page organ
The organ has been the heart of the theatre since its first performances.
The historical marker describes it as a 1,150-pipe Page organ, while other sources give slightly different pipe counts.
It was built by the Page Pipe Organ Company of Lima, Ohio, according to a post from the theatre.
The console, nicknamed Miss Page, is described as one of the very few Page theatre organs still installed in the theatre that originally housed it.
Cinema Treasures notes that the organ was restored in the summer of 1997 and its console was restored in 2014.
If you enjoy a little history with your entertainment, an evening that features the organ can be a memorable way to experience the room.
The Embassy today
The theatre now seats just under 2,500 people, according to one historic-theatre guide.
It is home to symphony and ballet performances, live events and touring Broadway shows.
The Embassy has described itself as Indiana's largest self-sustaining historic theater.
No current show calendar turned up in the sources reviewed for this article, so the theatre's website is the place to look for upcoming dates.
Planning your visit
The Embassy Theatre is at 125 W. Jefferson Blvd., in downtown Fort Wayne.
The theatre's website lists box office hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
It lists the phone number as 260-424-6287 and the email address as [email protected].
Another listing shows a different box office number, so it is worth confirming before you call.
Visit Fort Wayne reports that the theatre offers behind-the-scenes tours by appointment.
The tours run 30 to 90 minutes and cost $10 per person, and the available days depend on the performance schedule.
Because tours must be booked ahead, plan early if you are bringing out-of-town guests.
Parking, seating accessibility and ticket policies were not detailed in the sources reviewed, so please ask the box office before you go.
A visit to the theatre can also be paired with a stroll through other downtown Fort Wayne attractions.
Arriving early for a show gives you time to look around the lobby and take in the theatre's restored details.
Hours, tour prices and schedules can change, so confirm them with the Embassy before you plan around them.
For nearly a century, the Embassy has been a place where Fort Wayne comes together, and it remains well worth a visit. |
32 Comments
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Always wondered why it was called the Embassy. Never knew it had a different name before that. Cool piece of history.
The 1990s renovation did a good job but some of us remember when it felt a little rough around the edges. Still loved it then too.
Ron SzczepanskiSame, I went a handful of times in the late 80s before the renovation and it had this worn-in charm that was hard to describe. Glad they kept the character when they fixed it up.
That lived-in quality is very much part of its character, and it's wonderful to hear that the love for the Embassy has always been there regardless of its condition at any given moment.
Been to a few Philharmonic concerts there and the sound is just beautiful in that building.
The acoustics in a space designed as a grand movie palace and vaudeville house, then later adapted as the Fort Wayne Philharmonic's main concert hall, make for a pretty special listening experience.
Patrice W.Agreed, the acoustics in there are something else. Sat in the balcony once and honestly it sounded even better up there.
Went on a tour of the building a couple years ago. The lobby alone is worth the trip.
2,970 seats is huge. Does it still hold that many or did the renovations change the layout?
That 2,970-seat figure is the original capacity listed by Cinema Treasures. The early-1990s renovations reconfigured the space for stage shows, so the current layout differs from that opening-night setup.
greg_indianaGood question. I think the current capacity is closer to 2,500 but I could be off. The stage renovation probably took some rows out up front.
People bought coal with their own money to keep the pipes from freezing. That kind of community spirit is rare now.
2,970 seats in 1928 is wild. Fort Wayne was no small town back then I guess.
Named after the owner's mother Emma Boyd. That's a sweet detail I never knew before.
Linda KoehlerRight? I love little details like that. Makes the building feel a lot more personal than just another old theater.
It's a quietly touching story, owner Clyde Quimby honoring his mother Emma Boyd by weaving her name into the fabric of what became one of Fort Wayne's most beloved landmarks.
Volunteers bought coal with their own money just to keep the pipes from freezing. That kind of dedication is rare.
It's one of the most striking details of the restoration story, those volunteers essentially kept the building breathing through sheer personal investment before the broader work of refurbishing could even begin.
Marcus D.Seriously. Buying coal out of pocket just so the building could survive the winter. You don't see that kind of thing very often anymore.
Named after his mother Emma Boyd. That is actually really sweet.
That organ is something else. My grandma took me to one of the organ shows when I was little and I never forgot it.
Had no idea it was almost turned into a parking lot. So glad people fought to keep it.
Saw my first concert there back in 1989. Still one of the best nights of my life.
The pipe organ alone is worth the visit. Absolutely massive.
It really is a centerpiece of the theatre, the Grande Page pipe organ was part of the building from day one in 1928, making it as original to the Embassy's identity as the architecture itself.
sue_fwThey do free organ demonstrations before some shows. If you haven't seen it up close it really puts the size into perspective.
Never knew it was almost turned into a parking lot. That would have been a real shame.
Todd BaumgartnerSo many great old buildings in Indiana that didn't make it. Really glad the community stepped up when they did.
It really would have been, and the fact that the Embassy Theatre Foundation stepped in to purchase it in 1972 is a testament to how much this building means to Fort Wayne.
Saw my first Broadway show there as a kid. Still one of my favorite memories.
That's exactly the kind of memory this building has been creating for generations of Fort Wayne families, and it's a big part of why neighbors fought so hard to save it.
Jamie R.Same here, saw a touring production of Annie there when I was maybe eight years old. That building just sticks with you.