Ohio Theater-105 E. Main Street

Theaters; Business enterprises; Motion pictures

In the Madison Courier, October 3, 1938, were these headlines, "New Ohio Theater Contains Most Modern Equipment Available." With this declaration, the Ohio Theater opened its doors to Madisonians. It was proclaimed to be the finest theater in this part of the state. It sported a red and blue porcelain front and had air conditioning tunnels under the auditorium. The building was of brick and concrete supported by steel columns and trusses. It was under construction for almost a year under the direction of L. E. Holwager. H. H. Johnson was the lessee and the operator of the theater. Mr. C. E. Picard of the Queen City Scenic Studio of Buffalo, New York handled the interior decorating. The marquee was supplied by the Swansun-Nunn Company of Evansville. In 1977, John Galvin, the owner at that time, announced there would be major changes to the theater. A second theater was to be added by extending the flooring of the balcony out with a wall to be hung at the end where a new screen would be added. New sound equipment was installed for both theaters. Along the way, 430 new seats were added for patron's comfort. The theater closed in 1993 but in 1996 it was reopened when Tony and Laura Ratcliff and Mike Jenkins purchased the building from Galvin. The theater is still providing entertainment for the residents of Madison.

Harry Lemen, photographer

Madison Courier; City Directories; Historical Files

Picture circa 1940's

Madison-Jefferson County Public Library

Permission to reproduce this image for other than personal use must be requested from the Director of the Madison-Jefferson County Public Library. Please contact at 420 W. Main Street Madison, IN 47250 (812) 265-2744

Photograph taken with Eastman-Kodak Brownie Camera No. 2C model A, using No. 130 film. Resulting negative (2.875in x 4.875in) scanned at 1200 DPI using a Microtek ScanMaker 9800XL. Online jpeg image file saved at 72 DPI 800 to 1000 pixels on long edge.

Still image

"Lemen1207-ohiotheatre"