Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe owners of a 3,400-seat theater in northwest Indiana that has featured top entertainers such as Bob Dylan, Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock have changed plans and won't demolish the facility.
Star Plaza Theatre President Charlie Blum told The Times of Northwest Indiana the decision to preserve the theater in Merrillville was made because of an outpouring of community support. White Lodging Services Corp. announced in August it would demolish the theater as part of a project to build a new adjoining Radisson hotel.
The company announced it has determined if could put the new hotel and more green space on the site and still have room for the theater and sufficient parking.
Billionaire Dean White built a Holiday Inn at the site where Interstate 65 and U.S. 30 intersect in 1969. His son Bruce White's Whiteco Industries added the theater in 1979.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.