Built in 1884 on the northwest corner of Main and Harrison streets by early Elkhart entrepreneur Herbert E. Bucklen, who had made his money in patented medicines, the Bucklen Opera House seated 1,200 people on the main floor and balcony and became the scene of many memorable events. It featured famous performers including Houdini and singer Jenny Lind, hosted dramatic, vaudeville, and musical traveling groups as a last stop before opening in Chicago, and welcomed performances by the bands of Creatore and John Philip Sousa. High school graduation ceremonies were held there for a number of years. In 1896, the first motion picture in Elkhart was shown there, with admission costing five cents for balcony seats and ten cents for main floor seats. The building later became known as the Bucklen Theater and was one of four movie theaters during the 1940's and 1950's; the last movie shown there was in the fall of 1956. Its spacious second-floor rooms housed a ballet school for many years, and a large third-floor room served as a rehearsal hall for the Elkhart Symphony Orchestra. After alterations, various stores occupied what had been the theater's seating area, and after years of neglect and fears of collapse, the building was demolished in 1986.