This transaction resulted in the loss of a theater for the town of Rockville. In 1912, a group of men decided to build a new opera house, naming the building “The New Rockville Opera House.” It had a seating capacity of 700. The Rockville Opera House Company operated until August of 1925. Motion Picture equipment was installed in 1929. “Pollyanna” was the first movie shown and over 1,000 patrons attended the movie. Admissions prices at this time were 10-15 cents for children and 20-25 cents for adults depending on the day the movie was attended. The theater underwent structural changes when it was sold to the Carey & Alexander theater chain in 1937. The principle architectural changes involved the entire building in varying degrees. The ticket booth was moved from the street to the current location it is today. Carey and Alexander owned several theaters and drive-ins throughout central Indiana. They operated the theater until the spring of 1969, after changing the Rockville Opera House name to The Ritz. The Parke County Chamber of Commerce purchased the Ritz on June 10, 1969. A major remodeling of the building took place in 1975. This face lift restored the building to a 1890s look. The Chamber sold the Ritz Theater to Parke Players in 1998. Parke Players is a not-for-profit organization that owns and runs the theater to this day. We are open and operating with first run movies and live stage productions throughout the year. Please visit our website at www.historicritztheater.com or come visit us as 201 W Ohio Street Rockville, IN. Visit our Parke Players page to see what is happening on the stage here at the Ritz Theater.
