Sidney Theatre - Sidney, Ohio
N 40° 17.143 W 084° 09.459
16T E 741624 N 4463346
Originally known as the Majestic Theatre which opened on September 9, 1921. By 1941 it was the Ohio Theatre when it was operated by Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corp. It had a seating capacity of 1,300 with a single ground floor and the balcony.
Waymark Code: WMTM0P
Location: Ohio, United States
Date Posted: 12/07/2016
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The bright lights and colorful letters on the 1930’s marquee of the Historic Sidney Theatre have been a fixture in the Shelby County community for decades. When CB DeWeese built this theatre in 1921, silent films and vaudeville were all the rage. Little is known about what inspired him to build his Majestic Theatre on West Poplar Street in Sidney; however records indicate that he was influenced by the Victoria Theatre in Dayton where he visited for ideas around the time of construction.
DeWeese settled on the traveling production of Robin Hood the comedic opera for the grand opening on September 9, 1921. The elaborate musical took a train car-load of scenery and fifty plus actors to stage. In those days, tickets to this performance were $2, $3, or $5 and nearly all thirteen hundred seats were filled with eager theatre-goers that evening. Mr DeWeese had more than just live performance planned for the Majestic Theatre, and the very next day a Paramount Picture silent movie was shown “The Dollar-A-Year Man” staring Roscoe (Fatty) Arbuckle and the organ was played by Miss Jesse Ayers Wilson. Tickets were $.25 or $.11 war tax included.
Through the years, a series of different owners and names were bestowed on the Majestic. While research is on-going, some names included The Warner, The Schine, The Ohio, Chakeres, and most recently The Historic Sidney Theatre.
Always meant to be both a performance stage and a movie house, recollections from local residents have live performances happening into the 1960’s. In the mid 1970’s the balcony was remodeled and two additional movie screens were added to make the Theatre a triplex. From then on, it only showed movies until it closed in 2004.
While the campaign and renovations are ongoing, the Historic Sidney Theatre is operating with limited productions.