historic building

Art Deco theater once showed silent movies

/ Roadtirementvintage / 6 Comments

Downtown Franklin Indiana is blessed to be the home of the marvelous restoration of a classic movie theater. The Artcraft Theater is on Main Street north of the courthouse. Currently owned by a local non-profit organization, all kinds of entertainment events are offered with a full schedule.

Impressive marquee over the entrance

Ticket booth and entrance. The front of courthouse is visible at the end of the street.

The Artcraft Theater in Franklin, Indiana was opened in November, 1922 as a silent movie theater and Vaudeville house. Over the years the theater saw the advent of “Talkies”, changes in seating arrangements, and a major renovation in 1948 to the “Art Deco” architecture style. There is fascinating history of the Artcraft on their website. There are tons of old photos worth seeing.

An 1890 hardware store turned restaurant

/ Roadtirementvintage / 10 Comments

The three story brick building was built in 1890 and housed a hardware store for decades. The locally owned J.G. DePrez Co. was a prominent feature in downtown Shelbyville, Indiana. The building now houses a unique restaurant on the first floor .

Pudder’s storefront

Looking out on the town square

 

 

 

 

 

Pudder’s opened in 2019 and was able to survive the pandemic. It has maintained its local patron base, and is beginning to gain a reputation in surrounding areas. The restaurant is spacious, has two bars and interesting interior decor.

Full service bar

Interesting rustic decor

 

 

 

 

 

Sher and I went to Pudder’s for a late lunch. We were seated immediately,  there were a couple of other tables occupied. The service staff is very attentive and meets your needs without delay. Sher started with one of the signature cocktails and really enjoyed it.

“Fancy” cocktail menu

Sher’s Pink Drink

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Their menu offers an assortment of burgers, wraps, salads, wings and tons of appetizers. Sher ordered the veggie wrap, which was absolutely filled to overflowing with good stuff. I wanted to go with the Fish and Chips. The two pieces of cod were served piping hot, and each piece was very thick and filling!

We had a great lunch

Pudder’s has live music each weekend and a regular schedule of trivia nights. The drinks, food and service is good. Hard to beat that combination, plus for us Pudder’s is close by.