Hudson Theatre
368 E. Hudson Street,
Columbus,
OH
43202
368 E. Hudson Street,
Columbus,
OH
43202
4 people
favorited this theater
The Hudson Theatre was opened around 1930. This theatre looks to have been last used as a church, but as of late-2006 the building had not been in use for a while.
Contributed by
monika
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Recent comments (view all 13 comments)
Saw some horror matinees & In Search of the Castaways in the early 1960s there. Don’t remember it as anything special.
In the summer of 1972, the “New Hudson Theatre” was running “selected films for the liberated adult male audience”.
The ad for this ran in the July 1, 1972 Columbus Dispatch.
The Last Man on Earth (1964). Vincent Price could deliver the most campy lines and make them perfectly believable. My older brother drove me to the Hudson Theater to see that movie and he parked at the curb directly in front of the entrance. I got out under the marquee, which extended almost to the street. By my memory it was a pleasant and simple theater. Not to far away were the Indianola, the Clinton, and farther north the Beechwold. Today only one of these operates as a movie theater. Before automobiles were common there were movie theaters. As automobiles became ubiquitous theaters were renamed as neighborhood theaters. I was told that the interurban line ran close to the Hudson. LLLower
The Hudson and other OSU-area movie theatres are described on this page: University District History: 100 Years of University District Theatres
I recently called the owner, Working for Jesus, trying to get a hold on the pastor. No luck. Wonder who might have gone inside the theater/ church before. Very curious how the church reused it.
i’ll post the info from that link 2 comments up in case the page goes down someday. great info.
“When it opened in 1927, The Hudson sat in the middle of a busy commercial strip between 4th and Summit. A barber shop and beauty salon flanked the entrance. A small office suite occupied the second floor. During WWII, it housed the local draft board and later a dentist’s office.
In 1970, the abandoned theater was reopened as the New Hudson and showed pornographic films. It suffered repeated vice raids and finally closed in 1972.
After The Hudson closed as a theater, it was a church for many years. Currently, the building is empty, derelict, and vandalized.parking was hurting. The theater closed in 1965.
In 1970, the abandoned theater was reopened as the New Hudson and showed pornographic films. It suffered repeated vice raids and finally closed in 1972.
After The Hudson closed as a theater, it was a church for many years. Currently, the building is empty, derelict, and vandalized.
For sale for $350,000! I don’t believe it. http://www.mlsfinder.com/oh_cbr/kw_940/index.cfm?action=listing_detail&property_id=214025114&searchkey=6990f949-ca87-335f-d6a9-208541cc92b3
That building is not worth that much money. I don’t see what you could do with it, as there is no off-street parking in that area and it is not close to a commercial zone. It also isn’t very close to Ohio State. I’ll be very surprised if it sells.
County auditor information states the theater sold on May 22, 2017 for $72,500 to Bubbykins LLC. I looked it up as I noticed the plywood removed from the two east second floor windows and debris being lowered in buckets by workers to the alley below. I emailed Columbus Underground to see if they knew anything but have yet to hear back.
Back door and side exit by the alley were both open so I peeked inside. Old rows of seating are piled on top of each other at each end of the auditorium, light coming through the ceiling. Stage is still there, large air vents dangling from the ceiling. I’ll try and go back and take some pics the next time I see it open. Still no clue as to what it will be. Nobody answered when I called out.