We interrupt the Sea Hunt episode Underwater Narcotics for an important announcement.
John Mellencamp played the Crump Theatre in Columbus Indiana tonight (September 23, 2008). The Crump Theatre holds approximately 750 people, so this is probably the smallest venue John has played in many years.
This is Mayor Fred Armstrong awarding a Proclamation to John.
John played the Crump Theatre way back in the mid 1970’s. Ticket price was $2. A&E is shooting a series something to the effect of “Back Where It All Began.” Seymour, where John grew up, is about 20 miles from Columbus.
The Crump Theatre was built in 1889 by John S. Crump. His was the first true Opera House in the city of Columbus. In 1892, he purchased the old Bissell Hotel across from the Crump and renamed it the Belvedere Hotel. He had a tunnel dug from the hotel to the Crump so the travelling show people could access the Theatre without having to worry about getting wet (or dirty–3rd Street in front of the Crump was nothing more than packed dirt. It also gave the performing artists a means of surprising the patrons.
The Crump moved to moving pictures in 1914. In 1918, John Crump died. He died right at the time the Theatre was getting ready to go through a serious renovation. The orchestra pit was removed, extra seating was added, and when it opened its doors to the public in 1920, it could hold upwards to 2,000 people.
The Crump went though another renovation in 1941. The vitrolite front was added, thus doing away with the way the Theatre looked when it was originally built (it had 3 arches at the top with the words “J. S. Crump’s New Theatre).
My time for the Crump was the early 1960’s. The Junior Citizens League got together with the Crump and offered movies for kids on Thursday mornings in the summertime. The shows started at 10am. Me and my friends walked to the Crump along the railroad tracks from where we lived. In the summer of 1961, I got to see The Time Machine, House On Haunted Hill, Journey To The 7th Planet, among many others. It was a great time…to be young and have 50 cents in my pocket (it cost 20 cents to get in and with the 30 cents remaining, I could get a bag of popcorn and a coke).
The Crump succumbed to less and less crowds throughout the 1980’s, and by the time 1994 rolled around, there was talk of tearing the place down. A “Save The Crump” group was formed, and it was kept from the wrecking ball.
Today, the Crump is awaiting someone to step in and accept the financial responsibility it will take to completely renovate the Theatre.
Also, today the Crump is host to music entertainment, and for the past year, ghost hunters. Paranormal groups from Indiana and beyond have explored the strange goings-on inside the Crump, and all have walked away saying there is something inside the place. I had the opportunity to go in today during sound check and take pictures. ALL of my interior pictures have orbs. Now, these could have been caused by the lights, but then again…maybe not…
I’ve enjoyed John’s talent voer the years, first as a musician and second as an artist (John, if you happen to read this, I would really enjoy seeing your artwork!).
I bought John’s latest cd/dvd produced by T Bone Burnett. At my age, I relate so much to the songs contained. As far As T Bone Burnett’s new CODE format goes, I’m sorry but I couldn’t tell any difference between the dvd and cd, but hey, that’s probably just me. I blew my ears out a long time ago!
At one time, I had both Chestnut Street Incident and Johnny Cougar with I Need A Lover, but Chestnut Street Incident disappeared.
PS–I shot this video…
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John Mellencamp Plays The Crump Theatre Columbus Indiana
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