Terre Haute

This is part of my history and guide to my adopted home - Terre Haute, Indiana.

Introduction

When I first moved here in October 2001, people delighted in telling me that Terre Haute was once known as "Sin City" because of the gambling, prostitution, political corruption and labour problems that once went on here.

People also talked about the feud between Terre Haute and Steve Martin back in 1980.

Even when I first heard the story there were different versions of what happened at the performance Martin gave the Hulman Center. What happned after might not have been anything to do with the gig but something Martin said about Terre Haute in an interview with Playboy magazine a little later.

Hulman Center

In the 1970s, and all the way through to the 2020s, Indiana State University had a reputation of bringing word-class acts to perform at the Hulman Center. Construction of the 10,000 seat multi-purpose Hulman Civic University Center on Cherry Street, between Eighth and Ninth Streets, started on December 17, 1971. Named after local businessman Tony Hulman who offered an initial $2.5 million challenge gift, the Center cost $10 million and was opened on December 14, 1973.

The name was soon changed to simply the Hulman Center shortly after it opened. The first event was an Indiana State University Sycamore Basketball game on December 14, 1973.The first concert was on February 15, 1974, when country star Chalie Pride performed to an audience of over 8,000. The August 26, 1977, Alice Cooper performance drew the Center's biggest crowd of 11,200. The last performance was by John Mellencamp on May 20, 2020. The Center was completely renovated between 2018 and 2021.

Hulman Civic University Center
One of my postcards

Steve Martin performed at the Hulman Center on Monday, November 13, 1978, supported by Steve Goodman. They drew an audience of 7,348. Some sources say he appeared on Saturday the 18th, but I think this is mistaken.

Steve Martin Hulman Center ticket
Scan: Indiana Rock History, supplied by Rick Graves

Playboy

In an interview for the January 1980 issue of Playboy magazine Martin was asked what was the most nowhere place in the U.S. He andswered "Terre Haute, Indiana,." and went on to talk about some of the city's shortcomings:

It smelled.
Had too many fast food places and nowhere good to eat downtown after 6 pm.
Had nothing to buy
Had bad TV reception with only 3 channels that got mostly fertilizer commercials.

To be fair, the city did smell. There were three reasons for this, it had a paper mill, a place that treated railway ties with creosote, and the water treatment plant did pong a bit on certain days.

The paper mill was closed in 2007, the creosote place in 2010, and the water treatment plant started a multi-million dollar improvement plan in 2019.

Although dated January 1980, the magazine would have been on sale in December 1979, so the interview would have taken place in late November or early December. Probably just weeks after he performed at the Hulman Center.

All of this made me curious, so I tracked down and bought a copy of the January 1980 issue of Playboy to see what he actually said.

Steve Martin during the Playboy interview, January 1980 issue. Photos by Mari Oda

It wasn't just Terre Haute Martin found depressing, but many of the midwest towns he visited while touring. His interview with Playboy covers 17 pages and he mostly talks about his work, his act, his influences, other comedians, his audiences and so on. Here's what he said when asked "What about your impressions of Middle America?" and "What's the most nowhere place in America for you?"

Playboy: ...What about your impressions of Middle America?

Martin: I remember when we did those long-stretch tours in the Midwest, we'd say, "Thank God we don't have a day off." Because what do you do in Podunk for a night? You get more depressed. The worst time is when you're sick - and you get sick on the road. Or when you're nowhere. Nowhere is worse. There's not a movie, there's not a TV, or it's off at ten. There's no people in town.

Playboy: What's the most nowhere place in America for you?

Martin: Terre Haute, Indiana. Very little main street. And literally not a restaurant with any good food. You'd go into whole towns where it's completely fast food. If you were looking for something to buy, just looking to amuse yourself by buying something, you'd walk down the street, there was nothing for sale. There was nothing you'd want. They say you can always tell that you're somewhere when they have manure ads on TV.

Steve Martin talks about Middle America - Playboy, January 1980

It seems someone from Associated Press telephoned mayor William J. Brighton, and told him about the article. He replied, "We like manure. Doesn't he understand we raise a lot of corn and soybeans around here?" He recalled the earlier times of the 50s and 60s, and said, "They called us Sin City, now they're calling us nowhere. That's a hell of contrast, isn't it?"

Mayor William Brigton's response to the Playboy article

The Tour of Terre Haute

Seve Martin's film The Jerk was due to be released on December 14, 1979. What better time for the city and the mayor, William Brighton, to have their revenge, Playboy to promote itself and for Martin and Universal Pictures to promote the film?

Universal sent Chicago-based public relations expert, John Iltus, to the city. Playboy sent two bunnies, Marcia and Grace, their news consultant Dan Sheridan, along with Chicago's Maxim's de Paris chef, Jean Marie Martel, and maitre d', Carlos Vazquez.

Between them, they arranged for Martin to visit the city on Friday, December 7, 1979. Universal flew Martin into the city in a Lear jet from San Jose, California, even though the mayor had offered the use a crop duster.

Arriving at Hulman Airfield, now Terre Haute Regional Airport, at 2:10pm, he was met by around 125 members of the press,. He was presented with a bouquet of dead flowers and in front of several posters for The Jerk and one that had a picture of what looks like the Alps with "Ski Terre Haute" printed over it.

He seemed genuinely surprised at the number of pressmen. He warned he would be no easy pushover for the city. "I am a very cosmopolitan guy, I've been to Buffalo, Albuquerque and Abilene. It takes a lot to excite me." he said.

Next came the grand tour, during which he driven around town in a rental Chevy Malibu with the windows smashed in. Among other attractions he was given a tour of the C. F. Industries ammonia fertilzer plant. Martin was given a hard hat with his trade mark arrow through it, and manager R. W. James presented him with a small model of a farm and told him that "I feel like we are fellow fertilizer producers. The only difference is that ours is deoderized." Martin replied saying, "This is one of the best manure plants I have ever been in in my life."

Martin was driven through Jiffy's Car Wash, the city's first automatic car wash. Everywhere were signs such as "Welcome to Nowhere, USA", "Steve Who?", "Pride City Welcomes Steve Allen", "99.9 percent of Rose [Hulman Technical Institute] agree: Terre Haute is nowhere", "Nowhere USA Welcomes Steve Allen", "Welcome Dean Martin", "Hi. I'm Nobody From Nowhere", "Not Welcome, Ayatullah Martin or Steve Khomeini", and "Steve Martin, Kiss my Grits".

Lunch was at The Shuffle Inn and a far cry from the diner's usual fare. Maxim's' chef prepared filet of turbot, three lobsters, salad with mustard dressing, raspberry souffle and chocolate cake all served with Maxim's linen and silverware. Co-owner of The Shuffle Inn, Sally Nicholson, was not pleased. Apparently the members of Martin's group simply threw the regular patrons out, but Playboy promised it would pay the unpaid bills.

Then it was off to Jones and Bevy's Farm Supply and Tractor Repair shop where he was given a $20 gift certificate so he could buy a "personalized manure spreader."

Finally, on the steps of City Hall he was given a plaque proclaming him "Jerk of the Year, 1979." In front of a crowd of 500, Martin admitted he was wrong that "Terre Haute is not the most nowhere place in America, Abilene, Texas is. Well, excuuuuse me!" He also said, "I have been to Rome, Paris and New York and Terre Haute is better by far. I have encouraged all my friends to spend their vacations here." He announced he would have the World Premiere of The Jerk in the city - and he did! It premiered at Terre Haute's Indiana Theater.

There seems to be bits missing from these reports that some people distinctly remember. Some local women were introduced to Martin, and he told them to get in the trunk of the car.

Mayor Brighton's administrative assistant, Vicki Weger, estimated that betwen them Playboy and Universal had spent $12,000 (about $54,000 in 2024) for the day.

The trip to Terre Haute garnered nationwide attention such as this clip from The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky of Saturday, December 8, 1979...

Clip from The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky of Saturday, December 8, 1979

Shortly after, Martin showed film footage of his trip to Terre Haute on Steve Allen's show.

There's More...

Martin's film "Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid" was released on May 21, 1982, and included a dig at Terre Haute. In the film, a Nazi organization plans to destroy major cities in America using cheese bombs. They are thwarted, but not before Terre Haute is destroyed by cheese mold...

Martin never forgot the city, or the city him. He once said he was making a documentary, "Manure for the Millions" - shot on location in Terre Haute. In 2013, he quipped "I’m sure Terre Haute has two-story buildings by now."

An ad for a documentary that was never made
The video was extracted from Gary Wood's Gary Wood's Project Pitch

Starting in June 2008, rumours startedd circulating that Gary Wood was working on a documentary and other projects about Steve Martin and Terre Haute. I believe the documentary was finished in 2019, but information about it has been fragmented or put behind paywalls.

Gary's idea for bringing Steve back to Terre Haute for the naming of The Steve Martin Sewage Treatment Plant. or The Steve Martin Ditch, or the The Steve Martin Manhole Cover at the "Crossroads of America" is inspired and fitting.

Sources and Resources

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (IMDb)
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (Wikipedia)
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid - At least we got Terre Haute (YouTube)
Gary Wood's Project Pitch (YouTube)
Hulman Center (Indiana State University)
Hulman Center (Wikipedia)
Hulman Center Performances
Steve Martin recants on Terre Haute critique (The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky of Saturday, December 8, 1979)
Steve Martin ticket (Indiana Rock History)
Steve Martin is a Jerk (YouTube)
Steve Martin Online (Internet Archive)
Steve Martin vs. Terre Haute, Indiana (Seed & Spark)
The Jerk (IMDb)
The Jerk (Wikipedia)
The Story of Terre Haute: Steve Who? (Facebook)
Tony Hulman (Wikipedia)
Why Terre Haute, Indiana? (Movie Chat)