Hunt's Cinestage Theatre
217 N. High Street,
Columbus,
OH
43215
217 N. High Street,
Columbus,
OH
43215
2 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 37 of 37 comments
Now I have to correct myself. KenRoe is right — for at least some short time, the Southern Theatre was indeed renamed the Towne Cinema. I just looked at a Columbus Dispatch microfilm from the last week of December, 1972. It had an ad for the Towne with its “new first-run policy”, initially showing the blaxploitation film Trouble Man.
I did not have time to look through later microfilms to see how long the new name and policy lasted — but I don’t think it was very long.
Ron;
I agree with you, I had a reference from a usually reliable source that it was named the ‘Towne’, but I have now found the 1978 photo of the building still known as the ‘Southern’. So please ignore the statement I made on my May 6th posting.
Are you sure about about the Southern Theatre being renamed the Towne? It was the Southern all the time I lived in Columbus (1968-75), and a 1978 photo still shows it as the Southern.
This theatre is described in an article by Melissa Starker in the weekly newspaper Columbus Alive, October 4, 2001:
A Theater Near You: The Arena Grand revives the tradition of downtown movie palaces
Scroll down to “THE LYCEUM: Burlesque and another ill-fated format.”
According to this article, the last film shown here was Ken Russell’s The Boyfriend.
(By the way, the author of this article once managed the Somerville Theatre near Boston.)
The Columbus Metropolitan Library has an online historic photo collection with several photos of this and other theatres. Enter “Cinestage” into the search form to see six photos.
Ron;
The RKO Palace closed as a movie house not long after Hunt’s Cinestage. It went over to live performance and concerts. The Southern Theatre was re-named Towne Theatre and, as you state, continued for some time.
Which was the last downtown first-run theatre to close — this one, or the RKO Palace?
I recall that the Southern Theatre continued with third-run double features for some years after all other downtown movie houses had closed.
This was built on the site of the 1,000 Park Theatre, a playhouse and variety theatre built in 1890, which was destoyed by fire in 1893.
In January 1895 a new theatre, named the High Street Theatre opened, which closed in 1914. Re-named Lyceum Theatre it re-opened as a playhouse but closed again in 1915. It was re-modeled and became the Lyceum Burlesque Theatre and this was very successful until it 1932, when it suffered fire damage. It was quickly re-built but without a balcony and re-opened in October 1932, continuing as the Lyceum Burlesque until 1935.
It then went over to a full time movie theatre re-named the Uptown Theatre with a seating capacity given as 735 and operating as a double feature ‘grind’ policy.
In 1957, Herman Hunt, a local showman, re-modeled the Uptown into Hunt’s Cinestage Theatre which opened with the Todd A-O widescreen movie presentation of “Around the World in 80 Days”. Other movies to play here were “Dr Zhivago”, “Sweet Charity” and “Ben Hur”.
With attendances falling, Hunt’s Cinestage Theatre closed on 19th April 1972 and demolition began on 22nd January 1973.
I recall the really hot movies showing there exclusively so if I wanted to see one I had to go to Hunt’s. Problem was I hated the place. I have long legs and when sitting for any time, cross them, usually by putting my right anle onto my left knee. This was for some reason forbidden at Hunt’s even thought I never had a problem with it at any other theater. And usher would come down the aisle, flash a light on me and make me sit through the movie with both feet flat on the floor. So it was wait until the picture eventually appeared elsewhere or suffer through it in discomfort. And I was VERY careful not to scuff the back of the seat in front of me.
i was the projectionist at the cinestage from 1968 to 1971 ,it was a hard ticket house running 70mm untill patton which fox was afraid to make to many 70 prints in case it flopped!i look back on working there as a privilege ,as was personally knowing mrs. hunt
Hunt’s Cinestage was originally known as THE HIGH ST.THEATRE, THE LYCEUM and then THE UPTOWN. It was not a large house (around 500),but hosted “road shows” like Around the World in 80 Days, Spartacus, Sweet Charity, etc. I remember the interior had a lot of blue. It was located next door to the Chittedan Hotel.
The Hunt family operated this theatre and the Hunt’s McCook in Dayton, Ohio. When the elder Hunt passed away, his wife ran the Cinestage and his daughter and son in law ran the McCook. The Cinestage was closed in 1972 upon the retirement of Mrs. Hunt.