Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts, Performance theater in Hammond, United States

The Columbia Theatre is a performance venue in Hammond with a main auditorium seating roughly 830 people and a smaller studio for intimate shows. The two spaces allow different kinds of productions to happen in one location.

It opened in 1928 as Hammond's first cinema with talking pictures and a theater organ. The building played an important role in bringing new entertainment technology to the region.

The theater presents diverse programs including ballet performances, jazz festivals, theatrical productions, and musical concerts throughout the year.

The Columbia sits in downtown Hammond, with the main entrance on the street facing the old J. C. Penney and Firestone buildings that were added to the complex. The main theatre holds 830 seats, and the smaller Studio Theatre hosts separate events, so check which space your performance uses. The building is owned and run by Southeastern Louisiana University.

In the early 1990s a delegation of local citizens proposed leveling the Columbia for a parking lot. Marguerite Walter of the Hammond Downtown Development District and Harriet Vogt of Southeastern Louisiana University instead led the campaign to save it, and architect Killis Almond warned that the roof was near collapse.