The Rosedale Theatre was one of several neighborhood movie houses built in Evansville in the early twentieth century. It opened in early 1928 in the 1300 block of Division Street, deriving its name from the Rosedale neighborhood, a largely quiet, working-class residential district.
At that time, the building had the second largest seating capacity of any theater in the city. Rosedale closed in the 1950s, but was remodeled and opened as Theatre A in 1968 by new owner Larry Aiken, who built an adjoining restaurant for movie-goers.
The old theater featured art and second-run films, changing owners once before Aiken repurchased it several years later. In the 1980s, the restaurant expanded into the old theater building and became The Pub.
