Main Theatre
7436 Hamilton Avenue,
Mount Healthy,
OH
45231
7436 Hamilton Avenue,
Mount Healthy,
OH
45231
3 people
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Additional history credit Mt.Healthy Historical Society Facebook page.
“Peter Blum built the theater and opened it for silent movies in 1914 or 1915. His sister Bertha played piano to accompany the silent films. Later, Peter’s son Joe took over the operation. This theater was the center of Mt Healthy entertainment, which was not only a hub for the townspeople but for the surrounding farming communities, for many years. Joe chose to show only wholesome family appropriate movies, what we might call G-rated today. When movies veered away from this into more worldly content, with elements of sex and violence, Joe chose to shut down the theater. This was sometime in the 1970s or 1980s, we estimate. What followed was an auction house, and then years of neglect with the building falling into disrepair. The Port Authority has determined that the building is of sufficient historical significance that it has invested funds to stabilize the building, so it will stand against the weather without further deterioration, until a new use can be found for it.”
the entrance is indeed boarded up but there is painting on the boards which depicts a person going into the theatre!
Some new life is coming back to the long-empty Main Theater. It is in the form of an arts/performance space in the storefront connected with the theater. The “Matinees at the Main” will be open each Saturday afternoon from 1 to 3 p.m. beginning June 17, 2017. The painting group Hilltop Artists will be exhibiting paintings, and we’ll have acoustic music for an hour from 2 to 3 p.m. It’s free and open to the public. Here’s a link with more information: http://mthealthyrenaissance.org/matinees-at-the-main-with-sunflower/
I may have missed a previous explanation, and if so I am sorry for being repetitious. Mt. Healthy was originally named Mt. Pleasant. But cholera epidemics in 1832 and 1850 changed that. While as many as 1 in 8 people in Cincinnati were dying of the disease, very few were afflicted in Mt. Pleasant. At an elevation of over 800 feet and primarily rolling hills, there was little area for water to stand. That coupled with their own abundant well water supplies, proved to make Mt. Pleasant a very healthy place to live. Persons 80 years old were common. Soon, people just started referring to the town as Mt. Healthy, and after 1884 the town adopted the name for all matters.
The Main Theater is currently being stabilized by the Port Authority. http://www.hamiltoncountyauditor.org/realestateii/ROVER30.ASP To the best of my knowledge the owner doesn’t want the property and working with the bank to reclaim ownership. It would be great if someone was interested in turning it back into a theater or a drama company. The actual address is 7428 Hamilton Ave.
Does anyone know who owns The Main Theater now or how to find out who the owner is? There is a Mt Healthy High alumni group interested in getting in contact.
You’re right, Albert Lee! I grew up in Skyline Acres, age 3 to 10, moving to Forest Park in 1971; in ‘69 and '70 we’d get one of our moms to drive a carload of us over there: admission on Friday & Saturday nights was a quarter, and the owner sold small bags of popcorn and Dixie Cups of Coca-Cola for ten or fifteen cents apiece. They had a Birthday Club, and would mail you a free pass for your birthday. I remember seeing films like “The Bank Dick” and “Dracula” with my friends here. I’m pretty sure it’s the first place I ever saw a hippy smoke a joint.
First, Mt Healthy IS a city of it’s own. It is not part of Cincinnati, OH. It is in the middle of Springfield Township, but has it’s own government, police, fire dept and Mt Healthy City School District. The Main Theater DID NOT CLOSE IT’S DOORS in the 1950’s. I went there every Saturday afternoon as a kid growing up. It closed in the early 1970’s. MT Healthy was a refuge from the Cholera Epidemic of 1850. The original name was Mt. Pleasant and was changed because the folks living there did not get sick. After the epidemic, they changed the name of the town officially to Mt. Healthy.
I grew up in Mt. Healthy as well and spent many a Sunday afternoon in that theater with my brothers and friends in the mid to late 60’s watching everything from Godzilla vs. Mothra to The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (Don Knots).Great Memories. Remember when Joe Blum would play his banjo at intermission? The screen also had a curtain that would open and close at the start and end of each movie, sometimes getting stuck. I never did get a ticket for a free movie pass in my popcorn bag.I believe the theater closed for good in 1970 or 1971.
I grew up in Mount Healthy and spent many Saturday afternoons at the Main in the mid and late 1950’s. Double feature and a cartoon. Admission was a quarter, and popcorn a dime. Sometimes there was a coupon for a free admission at the bottom of the bag.
Joe Blum said he closed the theater because he could not get the kind of movies he thought kids should be seeing. He was making money, and had offers from buyers who wanted to keep it a theater, but he didn’t want others showing unsavory movies either.
II might disagree with the need for protection, but I sure admire his integrity.
Mt. Healthy is not just a suburb of Cincinnati. It is it’s own city, so the location listing is correct. Mt. Healthy was founded in 1817. It has it’s own mayor, city council, police and fire departments, school system, and income tax. It also has several buildings that were a part of the Underground Railroad.
To see a current picture of the theater, do a search for “hamilton county ohio auditor”. At the site, you can enter the address to see a picture and get property information such as owner history and recent sales.
The Main Theatre celebrated its 50th anniversary on February 9, 10, and 11, 1965. Boxoffice of February 22, 1965, reported that operator Joe Blum, son of Peter Blum who had opened the house in 1915, on those nights presented three admission-free movies which had been chosen by the theater’s patrons. The three movies shown on successive nights were “Muscle Beach Party,” “McLintock,” and “PT 109.” The 300-seat house was packed each night.
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Mt. Healthy is really just a suburb of Cincinnati, not a city. As such, the location listing should be changed to Cincinnati, OH.
I drove past that location dozens of times, I never knew there was a theatre there. I wonder if the shops expanded into the theatre space or if it’s just being used as a warehouse. Any idea on the capacity?