Great Example of Historic Building Preservation: The Midland Theatre

In Newark, Ohio, my hometown (yes, I know I have talked a lot about that in my blogs) there is an old theater downtown. Up until recently, it was in a large state of decay. I had only heard stories about what it used to be from older family members. My parents talked about going there all the time to see movies when they were younger.

Today, the Midland Theatre is constantly bringing in national acts, holding events and playing old movies. I remember going there with my Dad to see Star Wars and with my Mom to see Grease. During my Senior year of high school, our orchestra had the opportunity to perform there. It was so beautiful in the auditorium, but it was a cool experience to go the behind the scenes too. We got ready in all of the old dressing rooms and got to see the neat architecture located in the rest of the building.

The theater was originally built in 1928 and its opening night was that December. The festivities that night included live acts, as well as a Gary Cooper movie. As the years went on, the theater began to make a name for itself and attracted national acts, including Bob Hope and Jerry Lewis. They even had the Russian Ballet perform there at one point.

Unfortunately in 1978, the building closed. It was in very poor condition at this point. It sat empty until 1992, when it was purchased by none other than Longaberger. They took on the renovations and turned it back into a thriving theater, that has become a wonderful resource for the community!

Works Cited
http://www.midlandtheatre.org/about.html
Photo Credit: http://www.markspearmanphotography.com/Business/Newark-Ohio-Links-Website/i-SfT92Nm/0/L/midlandNewSign-L.jpg