Tag Archives: old theaters

The Murphy Theater

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The Murphy Theater has graced downtown Wilmington, Ohio since July 1918, just a few months before World War I ended. It was opened by a fellow named Charles Murphy who envisioned a grand theater for his hometown.

In 1929, Chakares Theaters of Springfield came knocking and leased the theater for many years. They installed modern equipment to accommodate modern movies – at that time called “talkies” and they remodeled. It did well during the Chakares years but began to struggle when the multiplexes became popular

By the eighties, Mr Murphy’s heirs wanted to sell the theater and a non-profit organization was born to save the theater and give it new life.

Today the theater hosts local productions, touring performers, meeting and weddings. According to their website, it sounds like a work in progress as they are wrapping up a new pub and concessions area.

The front of the theater with its box office, tile work and marquee is magnificent. It’s a real show stopper and, once this darn pandemic is over, I look forward to seeing a show there. This has been a tough year for many and I’m trying to use my resources smartly to support those small businesses and organizations that badly need us.

It was locked up right the day I was there but someday I will go back and stay at the historic General Denver Hotel down the street and see a show! Click here to read another story about Downtown Wilmington.

The Colony Theater

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There was a time that every small town across America had at least one theater. Whether they were known for movies or vaudeville they were centers of entertainment and culture.

So many have been lost to progress, neglect and apathy that it’s exciting to see one still operating. It’s equally sad to find the remains of a great old theater in a museum.

I paid my respects to the former Colony Theater at Highland House Museum in Hillsboro last weekend. The Colony was demolished in 2017. It opened in 1938 and was operated by the Chakeres chain for several years. It was owned by the city and then a nonprofit organization for some time but eventually fell prey to water damage and decay. It was deemed unsalvageable and torn down.

Highland House has a wonderful exhibit dedicated to this place. A mirror from the ladies room, small pieces of memorabilia, a stairwell railing, and a stunning piece of art called a bas relief are among the collection.

The bas relief will stop you in your tracks. This is a sculpture in low relief – so it has shallow depth but is three dimensional.

This one is a Renaissance Knight on a horse but the museum says that there were a total of eight sculptures that lined the theater walls and represented different places and ages including Egyptians, Native Americans, Vikings, Greeks and Romans. They were larger than life and skillfully created by Indianapolis artist Frank Boerder.

This type of art was commonly used in theaters of that era and they were typically uplit.

Whoever installed this piece at the museum did outstanding work and I found it most pleasing to the eye. Never fear – the other seven were salvaged and carefully stored.

Want to visit Highland House? You should! Click here to read about it and about the Hillsboro Marching Mothers exhibit.