RICHMOND, Ind. - More than a century after opening its doors, the Murray Theatre remains a landmark of Richmond's cultural history.

Its legacy spans vaudeville performances, movie screenings and community theater.

The Murray Theatre was built in 1909 by Omar G. Murray, a theater operator who managed a chain of theaters with business partner Gus Sun.

Constructed at a cost of $40,000, the venue opened at the corner of 10th and Main streets. It featured a 700-seat auditorium and attracted nationally known vaudeville performers, including the Marx Brothers, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Fanny Brice, a young Sammy Davis Jr. and Louis Armstrong.

The theater closed in 1930 during the Great Depression before reopening the following year as the Indiana Theater, shifting its focus from vaudeville to motion pictures.

Richmond Civic Theatre began using the building in 1952 and purchased it in 1966. The building reclaimed its original Murray Theatre name in 1984 before it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Today, the theater continues to host live performances as the home of Richmond Civic Theatre.

Read more on its history: https://gorct.org/about/.