New Harlan Theatre

The New Theatre launched with Lillian Gish in “Way Down East” accompanied by the Sibcy-Hofer Orchestra of Cincinnati on May 13, 1922. It was a multipurpose building that was said to be “in the center of everything”. The theatre was located very near the bridge providing lots of visibility. The building was adjacent to where the first building in town was constructed of logs.

The theatre’s name was changed by the Harlan Theatre Company to the New Harlan Theatre two weeks after its opening which it kept to closure. As the new Margie Grand Theatre was rushing toward completion, C.C. Bowling acquired Vitaphone for sound features for the New-Harlan Theatre in May of 1929. The Margie Grand Theatre (it has its own page on Cinema Treasures) launched two weeks later. The State Amusement Company Circuit took on the venue in 1935 providing a Streamline Moderne style makeover while reducing seat count from 600 to 500. Vitaphone discs were shelved as the theatre opted for RCA sound on film equipment.

The town even added a third movie option with the Harlan Drive-In launching in 1950 (it has its own page on Cinema Treasures). The New Harlan Theatre considered itself “Always the Center of Amusement”. That lasted into August of 1963 when the New Harlan Theatre closed after 41 years due to flooding in the town. It reopened briefly in 1964 closing for good with The Beatles in “A Hard Day’s Night” and Guy Williams in “Captain Sinbad” on October 4, 1964. The building was destroyed by fire in 1970. Today the site is a parking lot.

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