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Home » Theater Guide » Location » United States » Ohio » Athens » Athena Cinemas
Also known as Athena Theatre

Athena Cinemas

Athens, OH
20 S. Court Street
, Athens, OH 45701 United States
(map)
740.592.5106
Status: Open
Screens: Triplex
Style: Art Deco
Function: Movies (Classic), Movies (First Run), Movies (Foreign), Movies (Independent)
Seats: 892
Chain: Independent
Architect: Unknown
Firm: Unknown
Add a photo for this theater!
The Athena Theatre opened in 1915 and was the only remaining movie house in the city of Athens, Ohio until recently, when the Athena Grand multiplex opened.

The theater reopened in February 2002 after a $2 million renovation paid for by Ohio University which bought the theater in 2001 for $600,000.

Its recent restoration has recaptured its 1930's heyday, and the theater's new programming is eclectic mixing independent, foreign, classic, and, occassionally, first-run commercial fare for the college town.
Contributed by Cinema Treasures

YOUR COMMENTS

 
The above link is no longer active. The address for the Athena Theatre is 20 South Court Street, Athens, Oh.
posted by Chuck1231 on Nov 20, 2004 at 12:28am
This is the current link for Classic Theatre
http://www.classictheatres.com/
posted by Chuck1231 on Nov 20, 2004 at 12:29am
Classic Theatres has sold Athena Theatre. Classic Theatres is closing it's final two locations.
posted by UA80 on Jul 9, 2005 at 9:03am
Here is link to the story:
http://www.athensnews.com/archives/article.php3?story_id=20768
posted by UA80 on Jul 9, 2005 at 9:06am
Classic lost it's lease they didn't sell the site. My bad A 5PLEX IS FOR SALE IN Delaware, Oh. Chillicothe will close.
posted by UA80 on Jul 9, 2005 at 9:08am
Athena Cinema in Athens, Ohio is under new management. The Athena Cinema will remain open and show more art films and midnight movies. Athena Grand, located on East State St., will run new releases and offer stadium style seating. The official website for the Athena Cinema and the brand new, 11 theater cinema, Athena Grand is http://www.athenagrand.com
posted by Will Conway on Oct 3, 2005 at 8:29am
Athena Cinema is a 3 screen cinema.
posted by Will Conway on Oct 3, 2005 at 8:32am
I worked there in the early 1970's. It was a great 1200 single screen theatre with a huge balcony. The owner had pictures in the office of various big name stars like Bob Hope standing in front of the theatre. At the time, the theatre was owned by a local company called University Cinemas, which also owned the Valley Drive-in (Athens) and the Town & Country Drive-in (Jackson County).
posted by MBD on Oct 25, 2005 at 4:51am
mr frank nolan was my main boss when i worked as projectionist at town country drive in colton ohio also dont forget grove drive in jackson. ran strong carbon 11mm at town country also the ATHENA was owend by schine theatres out of new york plus strand in delware was in same co. worked at strand as union op jhm
posted by jhm on Dec 11, 2006 at 11:24pm
This is a photo of the Athena Theater.

posted by Lost Memory on Jan 3, 2007 at 7:38am
Does anyone know if this ss this the former Schine Athena Theater?

http://s257.photobucket.com/albums/hh219/KarenTHS/?action=view¤t=AthenaMarquee.jpg
posted by SchineHistorian on Feb 25, 2008 at 8:27pm
Does anyone know if this ss this the former Schine Athena Theater?

Yep, that's it. That marquee was on the building up until around 1970.
posted by MBD on Jun 24, 2008 at 1:31pm
Gee thanks! I forgot that i had asked the question. This is just about the most stunning small town theater marquee ever. And the photo is the jewel of my Schine collection.

Thanks again, MBD!

Karen
posted by SchineHistorian on Jun 25, 2008 at 8:17pm
Here is a 2008 photo of the Athena.

posted by Lost Memory on Sep 12, 2008 at 8:45am
Here is a brief July 2008 article about the Athena.

posted by Lost Memory on Sep 12, 2008 at 7:25pm
Thanks for the updated photo, Lost Memory. No contest, hunh?
posted by SchineHistorian on Sep 12, 2008 at 9:02pm
When I arrived in Athens in the Fall of 1988, the Athena had just suffered a fire -- started, if I remember correctly, by the popcorn machine. Later on, a few of the undergrads got permission to salvage the print of the movie they had been showing, Rambo III, which had ended up dumped on the floor of the projection room. They cleaned it up and we screened it in the School of Film's sound mixing theater.

At that time, the town had no theaters, as the Varsity across the street was in the process of being turned into the world's largest Taco Bell.

The Athena reopened in 1990. I remember seeing Die Hard 2 upstairs in one of the theater's two converted balcony screening rooms, and Cyrano de Bergerac downstairs as part of the Athens Film & Video Festival.

By the way, the description above is no longer correct. Athens now has a multiplex called the Athena Grand located out on State Street.
posted by Don S on Sep 13, 2008 at 10:41am
Don - I think Mr. Butler still has that print :)

As for the Athena, it reopened under Ohio University management in September. Dr. Ruth Bradley and I run the place and we're programming a mix of contemporary art films and classics from around the world. It will again host the 2009 Athens International Film and Video Festival in April as it has for decades.

www.athenacinema.com
www.athensfest.com
posted by Chris Iacofano on Jan 26, 2009 at 7:58am
Chris, please tell Ruth that Don Solosan said hello. I met my ex-wife in a class she taught at U of Michigan, and the fact that Ruth moved down to Athens was a big reason why we looked at Ohio U and ended up applying there.

Glad to hear that the Athens Film & Video Festival is still going strong.
posted by Don S on Feb 25, 2009 at 3:40pm
Chris, Could you please contact me through my email link? I am looking at theaters which have been purchased by colleges or universities. Thanks. Karen
posted by SchineHistorian on Feb 25, 2009 at 6:12pm
1981 photo of the Athena Theatre.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=CATAdvancedSearch1%2c35%2c3%2c-1&catpagesize=25&ProductID=31591
1985 Night photo of the Athena Cinemas.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=CATAdvancedSearch1%2c35%2c3%2c-1&catpagesize=25&ProductID=31592
posted by Chuck1231 on Apr 22, 2009 at 8:29pm
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