AA and WJ Gillingham built the Castle Theatre in a converted roller skating rink. Bathed in velvet red, it launched with 748 seats including six boxes. It began with “fashionable” vaudeville including short films on the Kinetograph. To distinguish from the Grand Opera House, it centered on films.
In 1910, the venue was remodeled including a $5,000 pipe organ by Hinners Organ Company of nearby Pekin, Illinois. Harry Wilson was the organist. But the Castle only netted a short-term lease of six years expiring in 1916. With the lease coming due, a proposal by the Knights of Pythias would have created a new Castle in much the same way nearby Seebrook, Illinois created its new Castle Hall. A prime lot at Washington Street near Prairie would house the multipurpose building.
The Castle Theatre programming did not make it to the New Castle, however. A city inspection in March 1915 ended the Castle’s reign early as the building was thought to be quite unsafe. It closed following the March 27, 1915 showings of “The Open Drawbridge,” “The Quality of Mercy,” and “The Millinery Man” supported by Harry Wilson at the pipe organ playing “Bum Diddle De Dum Bum That’s It” as the final organ number. The Castle was soon razed by Jeff Coit. Manager Lyons moved all the shows to the Chatterton Theatre.
As for the Knights of Pythias, they would find a new location for their proposal and the Castle proceeded as a new theater with the multipurpose building elements finding new occupants. Architect Aaron T. Simmons of George Howell Harris & Associates altered the original plans of the high rise.
The Chatterton Theatre programming was to be moved to the New Castle upon completion according to ads and articles. That arrangement actually ended in November - two months prior to the New Castle’s debut as the Chatterton returned to live programming. That six story structure’s with the former Castle’s film programming launched on January 24, 1916. Organist Harry Wilson would spend time helping to create the new pipe organ designed for the new Castle which he would play at that opening.
Local dentist Dr. Lawford G. Pullen and two business partners raised $15,000 to build the 600-seat Pullen Opera House in 1914. It launched under that name on April 5, 1915 with live programming. The Pullen would show live productions and, on “dark days,” it would present motion pictures. The Opera House was competing mainly against the Castle Theatre - one of three nickelodeons in Havana, Illinois' early cinema days.
Pullen was no dummy as the movies brought in serious coin while live presentations were harder to book and challenging to market. So a month later, Pullen changed the Opera House to a Theater concentrating on film with some vaudeville. Its name became the Lawford Theatre. A $3,500 pipe organ was installed in 1918 to improve presentations. The theatre converted to sound to remain viable.
Kerasotes Brothers Circuit built another theater in downtown Havana - the Havana - in 1936 while having taken on the Lawford. In 1939, the venue was given a new air conditioning system and improved sound system. The brothers also gave the Lawford a major revamp changing its face and losing some of the Oriental styled interior to a more streamline moderne feel. Kerasotes converted the Lawford to widescreen projection to present CinemaScope titles in the 1950s.
Kerasotes left in 1982 closing after an amazing 67-year run. The theater was relit closing in 1990. It reopened four more times with a combination of films and live events. The Lawford Theatre closed permanently in 2019. On August 4, 2024, its roof collapsed causing significant damage and leading to its condemnation. It is very, very closed.
Jacksonville Mayor Howard A. Prather was at the Beach Drive-in on June 24, 1950 at its opening with “South of St. Louis.” It appears to have closed with “Pillow Talk” on December 6, 1959. The City wanted the property in early 1960 for municipal projects and Fred H. Kent of Kent Theatres didn’t want to sell. Reports suggest that the city used eminent domain to acquire the property.
The Lincoln Theatre appears to have opened December 31, 1911. Buddy Austin took on the venue on October 20, 1919 with Dorothy Philips in “Destiny” and a naming contest. The winning name was the Austin Theatre.
The Gem Studio and Nickelodeon was opened by George W. Meyers in 1907. It became the Gem Theater in 1909 and was operated by Meyers until he sold in on September 1, 1911 to Noah Stivers. Ira Thorpe took on the venue on January 1, 1913. C.M. Jacobs took on the venue on August 14, 1914 renaming it as the Dreamland Theatre.
In March 1915, Jacobs sold the contents of the Dreamland to Wyatt Halcom who took the equipment to the Weldon Opera House to convert it to a theater. A new and final operator came in opening there on April 29, 1915 as the Majestic Theatre by Charles E. Twadell. It was reported in December of 1915 that Mr. Twadell had “skipped town” leaving unpaid people and bills.
The building was boarded up for three months. Finally, it was gutted in March of 1916 and converted to a pool hall.
The Star Theatre was on 215 East Main Street apparently opening in 1910 as a silent movie house. The venue’s movies wound down in the mid 1920s stopping before sound but hosting live events into 1931. A.E. Pierce took on the venue wiring it for sound November 28, 1931 as the New Star Theatre with “Ten Cents a Dance.”
The New Star closed in 1932 and was reopened by R.C. Wheeler on May 10,1933 with “Red Dust.” It was used for sporadic live events and trade screening in 1934 to 1935 when it appears to have discontinued operations. When the Clintonia was closed for its remodeling in July of 1936, its equipment was stored at the Star indicating that McCollum Theatre Circuit simply bought out the venue. It became a feed store in 1940 and a grocery store after the War. It appears to still be standing as of the 2020s.
The New K Theater opened here in its new location on December 26, 1916. A.B. McCollum took on the venue in the 1920s and the theatre stayed silent as the K Theater until 1931. McCollum installed sound in 1931 changing the venue to the Kaye Theatre. In September of 1951, the venue got a streamline moderne makeover shown in photos.
Closed as the Clinton Drive-In in 1982. Reopened by Tom Gates in 1989 and closed in 1990 as the Clinton Drive-In. Mike Harroun reopened the venue as the Clinton Drive-In for the 1992 season on July 10th with “Field of Dreams” closing after the 1993 season and then moved the screen to his Harvest Moon Drive-In in Gibson City.
The New Cuba Theatre opened in November of 1948 according to the trade press by the aforementioned Russell McConkey and Raymond Murphy. The theatre costs $65,000 to construct. McConkey announced a closure of the Cuba Theatre (no “New”) at the half way mark of a 20-year leasing commitment. However, a save the Cuba Theatre protest was successfully launched by the Cubs Senior Women’s Club and Business Association in October and November of 1958.
The Cuba Theatre closed in December 18, 1966 with “The Ghost and Mrs. Chicken.” It was relit once more in 1975 as a country western performance venue. “The Greatest Show on Earth” was the top performer in the history of the venue with Ma & Pa Kettle cumulatively raking in the most money for their series of films. By 1967, the Cuba Theatre had dropped from seven to four to just two days a week of operation as the town’s population was less than 1,500 people.
Charles Kuchan, Sr. opened the IdylHour Theatre on March 30, 1912 in a conversion of the existing Savil & Rafferty Cigar Factory building. The silent movie house was such a success that Kuchan would move to larger digs. He completed a ten-year leasing agreement with the IdylHour on March 30, 1922 before moving on to create the Capitol Theatre in the venerable Opera House location on September 9, 1922.
The Idyl didn’t remain so for long finding a new exhibitor in Joe Ross who renamed the venue as the American Theatre in April of 1922. The American was apparently unable to make the transition to sound and appears to have ended operations in 1931 with films ending two years prior.
Should probably be listed as the American Theatre formerly known as the IdylHour Theatre.
Another completely blank entry which probably should remain as such. I’m guessing that this was the Lewistown Opera House based on the trade press and local newspapers. J.F. Knock created the short-lived Knock Theatre - possibly here - opening October 1, 1917. The Lee Family - Ralph and John - took over the Opera House (and likely the Knock) which definitely became the Princess Theatre in 1919 showing silent films.
Ralph passed away and John appears to have left in 1921. D.M. Sheets took on the venue in 1921 continuing as the Princess. Abraham “Abe” P. and Pauline Werbner, operators of the Quincy Princess, then moved to Lewistown in 1927 and continued as Princess Theatre operators here.
Doing well with the Princess, the couple built the larger sized and streamline moderne Werbner Theatre opening in 1940. They decided in the 1950s to reduce to a single theater. They completed 40 years of Lewistown film exhibition - easily the longest tenure in Fulton County - closing in 1967. The former Princess building remained in place in the 2020s.
The entry as contributed is completely blank - which it can certainly remain. But if interested, the Werbner family were early West Central Illinois exhibitors. Hyman Werbner operated the Princess Theatre in downtown Quincy, Illinois. Abraham P. and Pauline Werbner took over the Quincy Princess but sold it. They then moved to Lewistown and operated the Princess Theatre there.
Doing well with the Princess, the couple built the larger sized and streamline moderne Werbner Theatre opening in 1940 and closing in 1967. Though the county seat of Fulton County, Lewistown had only about 2,500 residents. The Werbner became the Spoon River Opry House burning down in April of 1972. Its remnants were demolished.
The Masonic Temple Building housed the Opera House in downtown Canton opening late in 1891. Less than a year later, the entire structure was gutted by a fire on September 21, 1892 when sparklers used in a stage play led to a fatal fire. The building was reconstructed and the venue became the Grand Opera House and then the Princess Opera House before becoming the Princess Theatre. The latter occurred when films became more profitable than live programming.
Charles Kuchan, Sr. had run the IdylHour Theatre from 1912 to the end of its ten year leasing agreement in 1922 elsewhere in downtown Canton and decided to move to the larger Princess Theatre - itself, likely at the end of a 30-year leasing agreement. Kuchan changed the venue’s name to the Capitol Theatre on its September 9, 1922 relaunch. The Capitol added sound to remain commercially viable.
In July of 1935, the Capitol was gutted by fire. It was rebuilt to a streamline moderne structure at its December 3, 1936 reopening. Kerasotes Circuit took on the venue in 1948. On July 23 1975, an F3 tornado damaged the rear wall of the venue closing it. But repairs were made and the operation continued on October 31, 1975. It ran successfully until economic downturn in the area occurred in the 1980s.
Kerasotes reduced the theater to sub-run discount dollar status in September of 1982 instead of closing the theater. That policy ended a year later with the Circuit closing the Capitol Theatre permanently on November 3, 1983 with “The Final Terror.” Employees liked the title so much that they let it be the forever title on the marquee past the Capitol’s closing date.
Capitol Music opened a record store in the lobby and used the auditorium for storage. A deadly Nov. 16, 2016 gasline explosion shook the building and led to the demolition of the former movie house auditorium in 2017.
The Hillcrest Drive-In opened in tiny Norris, Illinois near Canton and Farmington, Illinois. It opened on March 13, 1950 and was equipped for widescreen projection during the 1956 season to play CinemaScope titles.
The Hillcrest was operated by Kerasotes Theatre Circuit from 1977 to 1980. It fulfilled its 30-year leasing agreement with Karasotes moving on. It then closed after the 1981 season under independent operation.
The Grand Theatre was the replacement for the burned Opera House Theatre that had been gutted by an April 27, 1939 blaze. Though that left the opera house’s exterior intact, new architectural plans were drawn up for a streamline moderne moviehouse.
The Grand opened Feb. 2, 1940. The venue survived into the 1980s. It lost its lease to the property owner - a local bank - which terminated the lease for demolition and the subsequent creation of a drive-through banking facility. The Grand Theatre closed November 28, 1981 with “Halloween 2: The Nightmare Isn’t Over.” Argumentatively, it was over.
Harvey Frederick opened the Woods Theater on July 25, 1948. The venue opened with 485 seats and projectionist Donald McKenzie in the booth. The equipment was installed by Gallagher Films of Green Bay. The Woods operated seasonally for summer tourists and year-round for some periods.
Its apparent final week showed a theater scuffling. February 2, 1974 it featured “Enter the Dragon.” February 3d and 4th, it featured the double feature of X-rated titles, “Teenage Mother” and “Teenage Sex Report.” Feb. 5th, it featured a four-wall presentation of “Call of the Wild.” There were no further listings likely ending its run eclectically.
December 31, 1920 grand opening ad posted with Norma Talmadge in “The Branded Woman.” The Park was the first cinema in town to convert to talkies on December 3, 1928 with a sound synch version of “Wings.”
The Park Cinema closed on December 29, 1983 with “Christine” and a bad boiler. The Park Theatre was torched on September 13, 1988 leading to its demolition.
The Milford Cinema was run by the Henn family from 1972 to 2020. They began as franchisees for the fledgling United General Theaters Circuit which quickly went out of business and on to fraud charges in court. But the Milford Cinema soldiered on.
Following the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, it had turned to new operators as a non-profit operation under its new name: the Milford Independent Cinema (MIC). MIC announced its closure on January 31, 2026. What a run!
AA and WJ Gillingham built the Castle Theatre in a converted roller skating rink. Bathed in velvet red, it launched with 748 seats including six boxes. It began with “fashionable” vaudeville including short films on the Kinetograph. To distinguish from the Grand Opera House, it centered on films.
In 1910, the venue was remodeled including a $5,000 pipe organ by Hinners Organ Company of nearby Pekin, Illinois. Harry Wilson was the organist. But the Castle only netted a short-term lease of six years expiring in 1916. With the lease coming due, a proposal by the Knights of Pythias would have created a new Castle in much the same way nearby Seebrook, Illinois created its new Castle Hall. A prime lot at Washington Street near Prairie would house the multipurpose building.
The Castle Theatre programming did not make it to the New Castle, however. A city inspection in March 1915 ended the Castle’s reign early as the building was thought to be quite unsafe. It closed following the March 27, 1915 showings of “The Open Drawbridge,” “The Quality of Mercy,” and “The Millinery Man” supported by Harry Wilson at the pipe organ playing “Bum Diddle De Dum Bum That’s It” as the final organ number. The Castle was soon razed by Jeff Coit. Manager Lyons moved all the shows to the Chatterton Theatre.
As for the Knights of Pythias, they would find a new location for their proposal and the Castle proceeded as a new theater with the multipurpose building elements finding new occupants. Architect Aaron T. Simmons of George Howell Harris & Associates altered the original plans of the high rise.
The Chatterton Theatre programming was to be moved to the New Castle upon completion according to ads and articles. That arrangement actually ended in November - two months prior to the New Castle’s debut as the Chatterton returned to live programming. That six story structure’s with the former Castle’s film programming launched on January 24, 1916. Organist Harry Wilson would spend time helping to create the new pipe organ designed for the new Castle which he would play at that opening.
Northwest Ohio-based Legacy Theatres LLC will take over the venue in 2026.
Local dentist Dr. Lawford G. Pullen and two business partners raised $15,000 to build the 600-seat Pullen Opera House in 1914. It launched under that name on April 5, 1915 with live programming. The Pullen would show live productions and, on “dark days,” it would present motion pictures. The Opera House was competing mainly against the Castle Theatre - one of three nickelodeons in Havana, Illinois' early cinema days.
Pullen was no dummy as the movies brought in serious coin while live presentations were harder to book and challenging to market. So a month later, Pullen changed the Opera House to a Theater concentrating on film with some vaudeville. Its name became the Lawford Theatre. A $3,500 pipe organ was installed in 1918 to improve presentations. The theatre converted to sound to remain viable.
Kerasotes Brothers Circuit built another theater in downtown Havana - the Havana - in 1936 while having taken on the Lawford. In 1939, the venue was given a new air conditioning system and improved sound system. The brothers also gave the Lawford a major revamp changing its face and losing some of the Oriental styled interior to a more streamline moderne feel. Kerasotes converted the Lawford to widescreen projection to present CinemaScope titles in the 1950s.
Kerasotes left in 1982 closing after an amazing 67-year run. The theater was relit closing in 1990. It reopened four more times with a combination of films and live events. The Lawford Theatre closed permanently in 2019. On August 4, 2024, its roof collapsed causing significant damage and leading to its condemnation. It is very, very closed.
Jacksonville Mayor Howard A. Prather was at the Beach Drive-in on June 24, 1950 at its opening with “South of St. Louis.” It appears to have closed with “Pillow Talk” on December 6, 1959. The City wanted the property in early 1960 for municipal projects and Fred H. Kent of Kent Theatres didn’t want to sell. Reports suggest that the city used eminent domain to acquire the property.
The Lincoln Theatre appears to have opened December 31, 1911. Buddy Austin took on the venue on October 20, 1919 with Dorothy Philips in “Destiny” and a naming contest. The winning name was the Austin Theatre.
The Gem Studio and Nickelodeon was opened by George W. Meyers in 1907. It became the Gem Theater in 1909 and was operated by Meyers until he sold in on September 1, 1911 to Noah Stivers. Ira Thorpe took on the venue on January 1, 1913. C.M. Jacobs took on the venue on August 14, 1914 renaming it as the Dreamland Theatre.
In March 1915, Jacobs sold the contents of the Dreamland to Wyatt Halcom who took the equipment to the Weldon Opera House to convert it to a theater. A new and final operator came in opening there on April 29, 1915 as the Majestic Theatre by Charles E. Twadell. It was reported in December of 1915 that Mr. Twadell had “skipped town” leaving unpaid people and bills.
The building was boarded up for three months. Finally, it was gutted in March of 1916 and converted to a pool hall.
The Star Theatre was on 215 East Main Street apparently opening in 1910 as a silent movie house. The venue’s movies wound down in the mid 1920s stopping before sound but hosting live events into 1931. A.E. Pierce took on the venue wiring it for sound November 28, 1931 as the New Star Theatre with “Ten Cents a Dance.”
The New Star closed in 1932 and was reopened by R.C. Wheeler on May 10,1933 with “Red Dust.” It was used for sporadic live events and trade screening in 1934 to 1935 when it appears to have discontinued operations. When the Clintonia was closed for its remodeling in July of 1936, its equipment was stored at the Star indicating that McCollum Theatre Circuit simply bought out the venue. It became a feed store in 1940 and a grocery store after the War. It appears to still be standing as of the 2020s.
The New K Theater opened here in its new location on December 26, 1916. A.B. McCollum took on the venue in the 1920s and the theatre stayed silent as the K Theater until 1931. McCollum installed sound in 1931 changing the venue to the Kaye Theatre. In September of 1951, the venue got a streamline moderne makeover shown in photos.
Closed as the Clinton Drive-In in 1982. Reopened by Tom Gates in 1989 and closed in 1990 as the Clinton Drive-In. Mike Harroun reopened the venue as the Clinton Drive-In for the 1992 season on July 10th with “Field of Dreams” closing after the 1993 season and then moved the screen to his Harvest Moon Drive-In in Gibson City.
August 15, 2008 grand opening ad in photos.
Abe Werbner
The New Cuba Theatre opened in November of 1948 according to the trade press by the aforementioned Russell McConkey and Raymond Murphy. The theatre costs $65,000 to construct. McConkey announced a closure of the Cuba Theatre (no “New”) at the half way mark of a 20-year leasing commitment. However, a save the Cuba Theatre protest was successfully launched by the Cubs Senior Women’s Club and Business Association in October and November of 1958.
The Cuba Theatre closed in December 18, 1966 with “The Ghost and Mrs. Chicken.” It was relit once more in 1975 as a country western performance venue. “The Greatest Show on Earth” was the top performer in the history of the venue with Ma & Pa Kettle cumulatively raking in the most money for their series of films. By 1967, the Cuba Theatre had dropped from seven to four to just two days a week of operation as the town’s population was less than 1,500 people.
Thursday, January 29th, 2026 is confirmed as the final day.
Sorry - did some further research….
Charles Kuchan, Sr. opened the IdylHour Theatre on March 30, 1912 in a conversion of the existing Savil & Rafferty Cigar Factory building. The silent movie house was such a success that Kuchan would move to larger digs. He completed a ten-year leasing agreement with the IdylHour on March 30, 1922 before moving on to create the Capitol Theatre in the venerable Opera House location on September 9, 1922.
The Idyl didn’t remain so for long finding a new exhibitor in Joe Ross who renamed the venue as the American Theatre in April of 1922. The American was apparently unable to make the transition to sound and appears to have ended operations in 1931 with films ending two years prior.
Should probably be listed as the American Theatre formerly known as the IdylHour Theatre.
Another completely blank entry which probably should remain as such. I’m guessing that this was the Lewistown Opera House based on the trade press and local newspapers. J.F. Knock created the short-lived Knock Theatre - possibly here - opening October 1, 1917. The Lee Family - Ralph and John - took over the Opera House (and likely the Knock) which definitely became the Princess Theatre in 1919 showing silent films.
Ralph passed away and John appears to have left in 1921. D.M. Sheets took on the venue in 1921 continuing as the Princess. Abraham “Abe” P. and Pauline Werbner, operators of the Quincy Princess, then moved to Lewistown in 1927 and continued as Princess Theatre operators here.
Doing well with the Princess, the couple built the larger sized and streamline moderne Werbner Theatre opening in 1940. They decided in the 1950s to reduce to a single theater. They completed 40 years of Lewistown film exhibition - easily the longest tenure in Fulton County - closing in 1967. The former Princess building remained in place in the 2020s.
The entry as contributed is completely blank - which it can certainly remain. But if interested, the Werbner family were early West Central Illinois exhibitors. Hyman Werbner operated the Princess Theatre in downtown Quincy, Illinois. Abraham P. and Pauline Werbner took over the Quincy Princess but sold it. They then moved to Lewistown and operated the Princess Theatre there.
Doing well with the Princess, the couple built the larger sized and streamline moderne Werbner Theatre opening in 1940 and closing in 1967. Though the county seat of Fulton County, Lewistown had only about 2,500 residents. The Werbner became the Spoon River Opry House burning down in April of 1972. Its remnants were demolished.
The Masonic Temple Building housed the Opera House in downtown Canton opening late in 1891. Less than a year later, the entire structure was gutted by a fire on September 21, 1892 when sparklers used in a stage play led to a fatal fire. The building was reconstructed and the venue became the Grand Opera House and then the Princess Opera House before becoming the Princess Theatre. The latter occurred when films became more profitable than live programming.
Charles Kuchan, Sr. had run the IdylHour Theatre from 1912 to the end of its ten year leasing agreement in 1922 elsewhere in downtown Canton and decided to move to the larger Princess Theatre - itself, likely at the end of a 30-year leasing agreement. Kuchan changed the venue’s name to the Capitol Theatre on its September 9, 1922 relaunch. The Capitol added sound to remain commercially viable.
In July of 1935, the Capitol was gutted by fire. It was rebuilt to a streamline moderne structure at its December 3, 1936 reopening. Kerasotes Circuit took on the venue in 1948. On July 23 1975, an F3 tornado damaged the rear wall of the venue closing it. But repairs were made and the operation continued on October 31, 1975. It ran successfully until economic downturn in the area occurred in the 1980s.
Kerasotes reduced the theater to sub-run discount dollar status in September of 1982 instead of closing the theater. That policy ended a year later with the Circuit closing the Capitol Theatre permanently on November 3, 1983 with “The Final Terror.” Employees liked the title so much that they let it be the forever title on the marquee past the Capitol’s closing date.
Capitol Music opened a record store in the lobby and used the auditorium for storage. A deadly Nov. 16, 2016 gasline explosion shook the building and led to the demolition of the former movie house auditorium in 2017.
The Hillcrest Drive-In opened in tiny Norris, Illinois near Canton and Farmington, Illinois. It opened on March 13, 1950 and was equipped for widescreen projection during the 1956 season to play CinemaScope titles.
The Hillcrest was operated by Kerasotes Theatre Circuit from 1977 to 1980. It fulfilled its 30-year leasing agreement with Karasotes moving on. It then closed after the 1981 season under independent operation.
Status: Demolished.
Opened by Claude Ezell and Associates Inc. / Ezell & Underwood
The Grand Theatre was the replacement for the burned Opera House Theatre that had been gutted by an April 27, 1939 blaze. Though that left the opera house’s exterior intact, new architectural plans were drawn up for a streamline moderne moviehouse.
The Grand opened Feb. 2, 1940. The venue survived into the 1980s. It lost its lease to the property owner - a local bank - which terminated the lease for demolition and the subsequent creation of a drive-through banking facility. The Grand Theatre closed November 28, 1981 with “Halloween 2: The Nightmare Isn’t Over.” Argumentatively, it was over.
Harvey Frederick opened the Woods Theater on July 25, 1948. The venue opened with 485 seats and projectionist Donald McKenzie in the booth. The equipment was installed by Gallagher Films of Green Bay. The Woods operated seasonally for summer tourists and year-round for some periods.
Its apparent final week showed a theater scuffling. February 2, 1974 it featured “Enter the Dragon.” February 3d and 4th, it featured the double feature of X-rated titles, “Teenage Mother” and “Teenage Sex Report.” Feb. 5th, it featured a four-wall presentation of “Call of the Wild.” There were no further listings likely ending its run eclectically.
December 31, 1920 grand opening ad posted with Norma Talmadge in “The Branded Woman.” The Park was the first cinema in town to convert to talkies on December 3, 1928 with a sound synch version of “Wings.”
The Park Cinema closed on December 29, 1983 with “Christine” and a bad boiler. The Park Theatre was torched on September 13, 1988 leading to its demolition.
The Milford Cinema was run by the Henn family from 1972 to 2020. They began as franchisees for the fledgling United General Theaters Circuit which quickly went out of business and on to fraud charges in court. But the Milford Cinema soldiered on.
Following the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, it had turned to new operators as a non-profit operation under its new name: the Milford Independent Cinema (MIC). MIC announced its closure on January 31, 2026. What a run!
The Milford Cinema opened on June 21, 1972 with George Peppard in “The Groundstar Conspiracy” with the United General logo on the attractor
Architect - Peter Thomas of Cleveland. The cinema size was listed at 1,200. I would guess it was reduced to 1,150 after the split.