Neu Theatre

The Isis Theatre launched on June 30, 1926 in downtown Ashland by F.B. Honey & Son. Honey had retrofitted the retail building of Edward Wiggenhorn adding 30 feet to the rear of the structure. Honey’s first Ashland theater was his purchase of the Bijou in 1911 and created the Palm Theatre in 1915.

W.E.C. Becker and Wilmer Birdsall of the B.B. Theatre in Ashland took over the Isis converting it to sound on December 12, 1929 beginning with the feature film, “Fox Movietone Follies of 1929.”

W.E. Dyer purchased the Isis and changed the name to the Gem Theatre on February 5, 1931. Later that year, W.M. Miller took over the theatre in November of 1931 giving the theater a refresh and its third name of that year as the Neu Theatre. After a soft launch period of three weeks, the Neu Theatre had an official grand opening and its new signage installed on Christmas of 1931 with Will Rogers in “Ambassador Bill” supported by a Laurel & Hardy comedy short and the fourth episode the serial, “Danger Island.”

In November of 1939, Frank J. Simek and his son, Woodrow, became the final operators of the Neu Theatre. It officially closed on December 18, 1951 with Clark Gable in “Across the Wide Missouri.” It was gutted in the early morning on December 19, 1951 long before the scheduled showing of “Strangers on a Train” that night. It was not rebuilt.

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