Madison Theatre
32-34 Park Street,
Mansfield,
OH
44057
32-34 Park Street,
Mansfield,
OH
44057
1 person
favorited this theater
Built and opened in 1930 for Warner Bros. Theatres, the Madison Theatre was one of John Eberson’s early Art Deco theatres (this one in a Zigzag style).
Contributed by
KenRoe
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater
Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
An Eberson/art deco closed? Someone to the rescue!
Yes, any further information on this theatre would be greatly apprciated!
I just visited the Mansfield Ohio website and wrote an email to the Mayor of that city. Hopefully I will receive an answer concerning the Madison in the near future.
Thank you for your e mail. Unfortunately the Madison Theatre has been gone for many years. It was in the city of Mansfield and was called the Madison Theatre and was next door to the Soldiers and Sailors Museum, now called the Memorial Museum. Where it stood is now a small park. I remember it well and it is sad that it was torn down before people in this city realized the benefit of restoring these beautiful buildings. We are fortunate to have the Ohio Theatre which has been restored and houses our Renaissance Theatre and our Mansfield Symphony Orchestra. Hope this information is helpful. Lydia Reid
Mansfield Ohio and Butler PA have something in common…they both demolished an Eberson art deco theatre!
The predecessor to the Madison was called the Opera House and then the Madison until a fire in 1929:
Another costly fire that oldtimers remember destroyed the old Opera House, or Madison Theater, at Park Avenue West and Walnut Street on February 10, 1929. Two men lost their lives in that disaster when they were crushed following the collapse of the west wall of the theater.
The Opera House, later named the Madison, was the city’s leading theater for many years. The entrance was off Park Avenue West next to the Baptist Church which stood on the site of the Farmers Bank. Soon after the rubble of the theater fire was cleared away, the Madison Theater we know today was built on the site.
The theater must have reopened briefly after closing in 1975 because I saw “Twentieth Century” there in the winter of 1979. I think some of the local folks were trying to save it from the wrecking ball. They showed old films and cartoons. The theater was still in good shape – just a bit dusty. I remember the long staircase that lead to the balcony, the cavernous auditorium and the art deco lighting fixtures.
The Madison (along with the Ohio Theatre) both closed in 1980. An attempt was made to restore the Madison but it failed. Attention was then turned to the Ohio which was renovated as the Renaissance Theatre. According to Marquee vol. 20:2, the Madison opened in 1931.
This is another 1982 photo.
Scott Schaut’s book “Historic Mansfield” says that the Madison Theatre was demolished in 1986.
The book also mentions a Majestic Theatre, located on Walnut Street, which was in operation by 1925, and says that the first permanent movie theaters in Mansfield, opened in 1908, were the Orpheum, the Arris, and the Alvin.