Hamilton Community Arts Theatre

The theater was rebuilt by Mr. Till. I spent many Saturday nights there during the 1960’s and early 1970’s when the re-built theater was known as the Civic. Don’t know who owned/managed the theater during this time (I think there were several owners/managers), but I do recall a Mrs. Trosper sold tickets for a time. She was a really sweet lady. The Civic eventually closed for good in the early 1970’s and sat vacant for several years. The community eventually bought the building, fixed it up, added on to the building and now uses it as a community theater. Hamilton is a nice place and the birthplace & boyhood home of J.C. Penney.

I didn’t have any confirmation that the theater was rebuilt after the fire. Apparently it was.

This theater did burn and should probably be listed as closed/destroyed. I have always heard this theater referred to as the Till and have never heard it called the Artilla. It was replaced by a cinder block & brick building that may have been originally called the Till, but I only knew it as Civic. It is located on what is now call Penney Dr. J.C. Penney’s boyhood home sits across the street from the theater where the train depot used to stand. I’ve been told that the Artilla/Till was a reverse theater. When you entered the auditorium you were at the screen with the seats facing you. Considering the lay of the lot that makes sense. I would appreciate the link to the newspapers articles Ken Mc refers to.

I think we should probably split the listings if we can confirm the name history. If the current building was never anything but the Civic, then it shouldn’t be listed as the Till/Artilla. Of course, it depends what exactly is meant by ‘destroyed’. It’s possible the original building was only gutted.