Reminisce: The rebirth of the Ohio Theater

Weakened by the vibrations of decades of truck traffic, the four chains that held the Ohio Theater marquee on December 14, 1977 released one after the other shortly after midnight and crashed onto the sidewalk below. It could have been an omen.

Less than a year later, in September 1978, the RKO Stanley-Warner Group, which then ran the ornate half-century-old Ohio at 122 W. North St., announced the closure of the theater.

Woody Owens, who ran the Ohio for a dozen years until 1978, recalled filling the house with films like "The Godfather" - which in 1972 drew more than 27,000 customers during its nine-week run - and nearly a ton of people they didn't come to see Burt Reynolds in "Semi-Tough" until the spring of 1978. "But a few good Saturdays every four months are not enough," wrote The Lima News on September 24, 1978.

The Ohio, the News wrote, "was truly an entertainment palace in the great tradition of its time," with mosaic and tile floors and a vaulted ceiling with a 2,500-pound crystal chandelier.

"Perhaps the most notable architectural feature of the 92 by 220 foot building is the cantilevered reinforced concrete span that supports the balcony," the newspaper noted. "In 1927 it was the largest of its kind in Ohio and one of the longest in the United States."

The 1,800-seat theater was built for about $ 250,000 and commissioned in about five months in 1927.

“That was a theater. They didn't come and go there, ”one of those who attended the opening of the theater recalled years later.

“The place still has a stately beauty, still a feeling of elegance,” the News recalled in 1978. “But too often there is no one to appreciate it. Too often it is empty. "

All in all, it was a far cry from that November night in 1927 when more than 4,000 people queued to get less than half as many tickets. For the next 51 years, residents of Lima, Ohio, lined up for movies, local events, and live entertainment that ranged from burlesque to ballet.

During World War II, big bands led by Guy Lombardo, Les Brown, Louis Prima, drummer Gene Krupa, and others played for entertainment-hungry audiences, and Navy recruiters used the lobby to attract women to WAVES. In 1943, the theater spearheaded an action to collect millions of cigarettes to send the troops in, while during the war, customers who bought war bonds were given a free movie.

Shortly before Christmas 1943, Carmen Amaya appeared on the stage of the theater with her 11 sisters, brothers, father and cousins ​​for a flamenco show which, according to the news, "shook the floor of the theater". "Her incredibly fast footsteps and snapping of fingers and the clicking of castanets were animal-like in her anger," marveled the newspaper.

On June 7, 1944, the day after the Allies landed in Normandy, Lima's War Service Legion took the Ohio stage for its production of "Blow Your Whistle," the proceeds of which were donated to Lima Servicemen's Canteen. The show featured dances, songs, magic, and "fun in general," the news wrote. "The play is about Lima and the entire cast consists of Lima people."

When the war ended in August 1945, the Ohio's offerings quickly returned to escapist fare. On November 28, 1945, the news announced that "Karston's Atomic Scandals" would appear on the stage of the theater. “Headlining The Great Darrell, Magier, and his' Miracle Girls', the acts include Dolores, the transparent girl and 'Dr. Weird's Chamber of Horrors', an elaborate act with zombies, headless men moving in the midst of the audience. "

Senior artists, many of whom were sponsored by the Northwest Ohio Civic Music Association, performed in the Ohio for the next quarter of a century. The Markova-Dolin ballet company performed about four months after Karston's troupe performed in the Ohio. The violinist Isaac Stern played the Ohio in 1949 and the Vienna Boys' Choir in 1950 and 1951. Jerome Hines of the Metropolitan Opera delighted the local audience in 1954. The San Francisco, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Boston Pops, and other orchestras also came to the Ohio.

In July 1950, the theater's new air conditioning system was turned on, which News reported was removing about 95 gallons of moisture per hour from the cavernous building. In October 1953 a “new, wide 'panorama' screen was installed. The 20 by 40 foot screen ", reported the news, was" suitable for use for images in the three-dimensional cinemascope or standard medium ".

Earlier this year, Ohio showed Bwana Devil, the first full-length 3D film. Meanwhile, the theater's tent, "after being cut off from trucks several times," wrote the News in August 1955, has been replaced by a shorter one that was destroyed 22 years later by the vibrations of the trucks.

In the 1970s, theaters like Ohio "had the market stolen from new smaller theaters" with multiple screens and convenient locations in suburban shopping centers, the News wrote in 1978. Theater manager Owens was short and sweet: "Time has caught up with these big barn-like theaters" he told the news.

And that, it seemed, was it. The Ohio seemed destined to become another boarded-up memory or parking lot - only it had a lot of life left in it.

RKO-Stanley Warner sold it in 1978 to the Lima businessman Larry Comer. In March 1979, it reopened as Ohio Theater 2.

"The heart of the renovated theater is the nightclub called Fantasia, which has a 2,200-square-foot dance floor that is considered one of the largest in the state," wrote the News on March 2, 1979, watching live performances or films. There will be space for 1,450 people, say spokesmen.

Comer reinvented the building several times. Between 1992-1994 it was Slingers, a country line dance club; from 1994 to 2000 it was Club Mirage with pop and rock music; between 2000 and 2002 it was Vortex, with techno / dance beat music; between 2002 and 2006 it was Night Moves, a pop / dance club; and from 2006 to 2008 Club Rush.

In 2013, Kelly and Mike Saddler bought the Ohio, telling the news around the time they were hoping to "bring more life" to downtown Lima.

"They turned the space from a nightclub into a live music and entertainment venue, but Kelly Saddler said she wants other parties to have a chance to turn the theater into something else," the News wrote on April 3, 2019.

Veronica Fox, a real estate agent at Superior Plus Realtors, told the News in 2019 that “it has a lot of potential, just need a little modernization. It just takes the right person to go in there and fix it. "

The right people might have arrived in November 2020 when two Los Angeles television producers bought it after years of searching for a place to revive their dinner theater productions. Joe Correll and Michael Bouson have big plans for the Ohio: live theater dance and musical performances on the main stage; two bars - a piano bar on the main floors and a speakeasy-style jazz bar on the upper floor; and a renovated Ohio Room, which News says is being used as a rehearsal studio.

"Our philosophy is that this theater isn't really ours, it's the city of Lima," Bouson told the News. “It's been here for 100 years. We are responsible for making sure that it continues, and hopefully one step further, but we are counting on the community to be a part of it. "

"It's Our Town" was staged in 1947 at the Ohio Theater. In 1978 it was closed as a theater.

Contact Greg Hoersten at info@limanews.com.

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