The Old National Centre, formerly known as the Murat Shrine Temple and the Murat Shrine Center, is located at North and New Jersey streets in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, Indiana, and is owned by the Murat Shriners of the

Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS), is an American Masonic society. Founded in 1872 in New York City, it is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, and has over 200 chapters ...

. The theater portion of the building is now known as the Murat Theatre at Old National Centre or simply the Murat Theatre and houses the oldest extant stage house in

downtown Indianapolis Downtown Indianapolis is a neighborhood area in and the central business district of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Downtown is bordered by Interstate 65 in Indiana, Interstate 65, Interstate 70 in Indiana, Interstate 70, and the White ...

. It is the only Shrine Center in the world with a name of French origin and is the largest Shrine Center in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

History

In 1882, five Freemasons wanted a Shrine organization in Indianapolis. They joined the Shrine Temple at

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, and had that temple's help in establishing an Indianapolis temple. The local organization of the Shrine, called the Indianapolis Shriners, was given its charter on June 4, 1884. The first potentate was John T. Brush, who served as such from 1884 to 1897.

Lew Wallace Lewis Wallace (April 10, 1827February 15, 1905) was an American lawyer, Union general in the American Civil War, governor of New Mexico Territory, politician, diplomat, artist, and author from Indiana. Among his novels and biographies, Walla ...

and

Thomas Taggart Thomas Taggart (November 17, 1856 – March 6, 1929) was an Irish-American politician who was the political boss of the Democratic Party in Indiana for the first quarter of the twentieth century and remained an influential political figure in ...

were among their first Ceremonial Class, held in 1885. By the end of the first year, there were 105 members. The Indianapolis Valley of

Scottish Rite The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry is a List of Masonic rites, rite within the broader context of Freemasonry. It is the most widely practiced List of Masonic rites, Rite in the world. In some parts of the world, and in the ...

gave them the Townsley and Wiggans "Pork House" for their meetings. The Murat Temple was built in 1909 by the William P. Jungclaus Company using the designs of Murat Shriner Oscar D. Bohlen, with Middle Eastern and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian stylings that were fitting for a building intended for Shriners. Its namesake is the

Nubian Desert The Nubian Desert ( ) is in the eastern region of the Sahara, Sahara Desert, spanning approximately 400,000 km2 of northeastern Sudan and northern Eritrea, between the Nile and the Red Sea. The arid region is rugged and rocky and contains s ...

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentBir Murat, which was named for the

Frenchman French people () are a nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common French culture, history, and language, identified with the country of France. The French people, especially the native speakers of langues d'oïl from nort ...

Joachim Murat Joachim Murat ( , also ; ; ; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French Army officer and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the military titles of Marshal of the ...

, one of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's generals in his Egyptian campaign. The Murat Shrine gave the

Indianapolis Zoo The Indianapolis Zoo is a non-profit zoo, public aquarium, and botanical garden in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Incorporated in 1944, the Indianapolis Zoological Society established the first zoo at George Washington Park in 1964. The c ...

its first

camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...

and established the 500 Festival Parade. The Murat Shrine is primarily known in Indianapolis for its theater, which was built in 1910. In its early days it featured Broadway plays and even a 1932 speech by

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

. Between 1948 and 1963, it was the only road show

venue A venue is the location at which an event takes place. It may refer to: Locations * Venue (law), the place a case is heard * Financial trading venue, a place or system where financial transactions can occur * Music venue, place used for a conce ...

in Indianapolis. Before Clowes Memorial Hall opened in 1963, it was the home of the

Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO) is a major American orchestra based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The largest performing arts organization in Indiana, the orchestra was founded in 1930 and is based at the Hilbert Circle Theatre in downtown ...

; the orchestra survived the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

due only to the nominal fee the Temple charged the orchestra for using the theater. The orchestra made recordings with

Fabien Sevitzky Fabien Sevitzky (September 29, 1891 in Vyshny Volochyok – February 3, 1967 in Athens) was a Russian-born American conductor. He was the nephew of renowned double-bass virtuoso and longtime Boston Symphony Orchestra conductor Serge Koussevi ...

in the theater for

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

between 1941 and 1953. The Indianapolis Opera Company briefly used the facility during the 1980s. In 1984, the Murat Shriners had the second largest membership of all Shrine temples in the world. In 1988, a fire broke out in the 1968 addition, injuring 15 firefighters when a portion of the addition collapsed. However, there was relatively little damage to the structure.

Construction

The edifice is themed after

Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...

mosques found in the Middle East and Egypt. Features of the building include

stained-glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

windows,

terra cotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based Vitrification#Ceramics, non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used ...

trim,

minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

s, and brown and yellow brick banding. A tall tower is at the southeast corner. An addition to the temple was designed to blend with the existing structure. The Egyptian-themed auditorium, added as part of the 1922 addition, had already been planned before the discovery of the

18th dynasty The Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XVIII, alternatively 18th Dynasty or Dynasty 18) is classified as the first dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt, the era in which ancient Egypt achieved the peak of its power. The Eighteenth Dynasty ...

Pharaoh

Tutankhamun Tutankhamun or Tutankhamen, (; ), was an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled during the late Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Born Tutankhaten, he instituted the restoration of the traditional polytheistic form of an ...

's tomb, which coincided with the opening of the auditorium.

Facilities

The main sections of Murat Shrine are the 2,000-seat concert hall and the 2,500-seat performing arts theater. Today, there are nine areas for hosting events. The Egyptian Room can hold 2,000 people for a standing cocktail reception. The smaller areas are the Corinthian Hall, the Corinthian Annex, the Corinthian Meeting Room, the Great Hall, the Imperial Lounge (formerly the "Crowne Room"), and various lobby areas.

Concerts

The Old National Centre has hosted numerous concerts with bands such as

Babymetal (stylized in all caps as BABYMETAL) is a Japanese kawaii metal band consisting of Suzuka Nakamoto as "Su-metal", Moa Kikuchi as "Moametal" and Momoko Okazaki as "Momometal". The band is produced by Kobametal from the Amuse Inc., Amuse talent a ...

Elle King Tanner Elle Schneider (born July 3, 1989), known professionally as Elle King, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her musical style is influenced by Country music, country, Rock music, rock, and blues. She signed with RCA Records to ...

, Huddy, Pennywise,

Mitski Mitsuki Laycock (born September 27, 1990), also known as Mitski Miyawaki, and known professionally as Mitski, is an American singer-songwriter. She Self-publishing, self-released her first two albums, ''Lush (Mitski album), Lush'' (2012), and '' ...

State Champs State Champs is an American pop-punk band from Albany, New York, formed in 2010. They are currently signed to Pure Noise Records and have released three EPs and five full-length albums. Their 2013 debut album ''The Finer Things (State Champs al ...

and

Sierra Ferrell Sierra Elizabeth Ferrell (born August 3, 1988) is an American singer-songwriter and musician from West Virginia, whose music incorporates elements of Folk music, folk, bluegrass music, bluegrass, and gypsy jazz, and styles such as Tango music, ta ...

References

External links