Cadle Tabernacle

== Early years ==
Following his conversion to [[Christianity]] and overcoming alcohol and gambling addiction,<ref name=":0">{{cite journal| author=Zeigler, Connie| title =Cadle Tabernacle: Indiana's Home of Fire and Brimestone | journal =Urban Times | page=1 | location =Indianapolis, Indiana | date =March 2008}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite journal| title =RetroIndy: Cadle Tabernacle | journal =Indianapolis Star | location =Indianapolis, Indiana | date=August 28, 2013}}</ref> [[E. Howard Cadle]], an Indiana businessman who owned a chain of shoe repair shops and worked as a car salesman, had a strong desire to evangelize. After studying the large crowds that traveling evangelists attracted, he decided to construct a building in Indianapolis for their use.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">Zeigler, p. 2.</ref> Cadle took note of the upcoming revival tour by [[Rodney "Gipsy" Smith]] and his choir in Indianapolis, a widely publicized event in the spring of 1921.<ref>{{cite journal| author=Anderson, Theo| title =Back Home Again (and Again) in Indiana: E. Howard Cadle, Christian Populism, and the Resilience of American Fundamentalism | journal =Indiana Magazine of History | volume =102 | page=311 | date =December 1, 2006}}</ref> He met with Smith to discuss the choir's future meeting plans as the revival ended. These initially included monthly meetings and interval concerts.<ref name=":3">Anderson, p. 312.</ref>

On May 20, 1921, a month after his meeting with Smith, Cadle expanded his initial goal of sponsoring meetings to establishing a permanent structure whose estimated cost was $75,000. The plans for the building included seating for 10,000 and 1,000 choir seats,<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> though the final number of seats for the choir was 1,400.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4">{{cite book | author=Melton, Gordon | title =Religious Leaders of America  | publisher =Gale Group | year =1999 | page=98 }}</ref><ref name=":5">{{cite journal| author=Hunter, Al| title =Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Indianapolis, Part 1 | journal =The Weekly View | date =December 13, 2013}}</ref> The tabernacle's seating capacity made it the largest in the United States.<ref name=":1" /> Construction on the building began in the summer of 1921 with workers rushing to complete it in time for the dedication services later that fall. The final construction cost was $305,000<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":6">Anderson, p. 315.</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite book|title=The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis|last=Bodenhammer|first=David J.|last2=Barrows|first2=Robert G.|last3=Vanderstel|first3=Gordon|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=1994|location=Bloomington|page=379}}</ref> ($4.3 million adjusted for inflation), significantly higher than the initial estimate.

Gypsy Smith and his choir returned for the dedication services on October 9, 1921. The tabernacle was filled to capacity and an estimated 10,000 more turned away. During the dedication program, Cadle also addressed the gathering, explaining how his mother prayed for his conversion, praising the choir, and unveiling life-size portraits of himself and his mother, hung on either side of the choir loft.<ref name=":6" /> Cadle named the new building in honor of his mother, Loretta "Etta" Cadle.<ref name=":1" />