Madame Walker Theatre Center
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Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company
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The building in 2016
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| Location | Indianapolis, Indiana |
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| Coordinates | 39°46′33.5″N 86°10′1.5″W / 39.775972°N 86.167083°WCoordinates: 39°46′33.5″N 86°10′1.5″W / 39.775972°N 86.167083°W |
| Built | 1927 |
| Architect | Jungclaus, W.; Rubush & Hunter |
| Architectural style | Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements |
| NRHP reference # | 80000062 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | July 17, 1980 |
| Designated NHL | July 17, 1991 |
The Madame C.J. Walker Building houses the Madame Walker Theatre Center in the city of Indianapolis, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It was named after America's first self-made female millionaire, Madam C.J. Walker. As Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1991.
Walker began the development of the Walker Building and Theatre prior to her death in 1919. The project was subsequently completed by her daughter A'Lelia Walker and opened to the public in December 1927.
The Walker Building, located in the Indiana Avenue Cultural District, was a center of entertainment and business and pride for the city's African American community from the 1920s to the 1950s. During the mid-1950s, the building and its surrounding neighborhood began a gradual decline.
By the late 1970 the Walker Building stood nearly abandoned, with only Walker Manufacturing Company remaining housed in the building, and faced demolition. A group of volunteers recognized the structure's history and began a project to preserving the building. After becoming incorporated as the Madame Walker Building Urban Life Center in 1979, the group purchased the building from the Walker Manufacturing Company and began planning for its restoration.
In 1982, the organization's articles of incorporation were amended to reflect the organization's new name of Madame Walker Urban Life Center. The not-for-profit organization was founded to reestablish the facility as a center for cultural expression and economic enterprise.
In 1983, the first phase of the restoration, which housed offices and the Grand Casino Ballroom, was completed. A $2.5 million capital campaign raised funds to restore the famous 944-seat (now 935-seat) Walker Theatre. The influence of African art forms in the original design of Walker and her daughter for the design concept is apparent throughout the theatre. In 1988, the City of Indianapolis celebrated the opening of the fully restored Madame C.J. Walker Building. The site is now designated as a National Historic Landmark, and it is registered on both the Indiana Register of Historic Sites and Structures and the National Register of Historic Places.
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