Liberty Theatre
13-15 S. 5th Street,
Zanesville,
OH
43701
13-15 S. 5th Street,
Zanesville,
OH
43701
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October 13th, 1927 grand opening ad and article at
Final film was “Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.” They had ‘Goodbye Miss Liberty’ on the marquee when that film was showing.
Last day photo of marque added.
Added two photos of exterior.
Tinseltoes: The Casino was at 624 Main Street and was opened before 1912 (in 1907, according to one source) and was operated by Walter C. Quimby. In 1912 it was renamed the Grand Theatre, which it remained until closing in 1950. During its last ten years it was operated by the Shea circuit. The Grand was dismantled in 1952, but I’m not sure what became of the building. It is not yet listed at Cinema Treasures.
it was South 5th street not north 5th street. I went there many times growing up and went to all the good movies first with my mother (Sheila) and my grandfather (Albert). When I went in the marines in 1973 my Grandmother (Florence)) mailed me the newspaper article when they tore it down back in late 74. It broke my heart it was a beautiful place to go for many years and could have been renovated. Zanesville needs a few more classy places to go to downtown to bring it back to life again. The Balcony was great and as a kid we use to sneak up the steps to the box seats off to the side and watch the movies..it was great…until you were caught…lol
The address of the Liberty Theatre still needs to be updated to 13-15 S. Fifth Street. Google Street View now also needs to be reset to look in the correct direction, south from Main Street.
Looking south, the Liberty Theatre would have been down the block on the right, beyond the modern building currently occupied by Chase Bank. The Quimby/State/Cinema 1 Theatre would have been a bit farther down the block on the left.
The Liberty closed on 11/27/1974. This is from “A Pictorial History of Muskingum County,” published by the Zanesville Times Recorder in 1994. Three exterior photos are on pages 72 and 73. One has “Fairwell Miss Liberty” on the marquee.
The book Zanesville has a photo of the Liberty Theatre, and the caption gives the address as 13-15 S. Fifth Street, and the opening date as October 13, 1927.
The Liberty was a very handsome building, with a facade that featured ornate detailing in what must have been terra cotta (the style is not Art Deco, by the way, but more an eclectic Renaissance Revival with strong elements of the Rococo.) It’s possible that the terra cotta was actually made in Zanesville, as fired clay was for many years the city’s leading industry.
The Liberty was not as wide as the Quimby Theatre across the street, but probably had a frontage of at least 60 feet, and it was tall, with the cornice at least 40 feet above the street. It was an imposing structure. If the interior was anywhere near as good as the facade, it must have been splendid.
The name New Liberty Theatre begins appearing in Zanesville newspapers in September, 1927. If, as Walter Kussmaul says in the description (and I have no reason to doubt his memory) the Liberty was across the street from the Cinema 1 (which was at 30 S. Fifth), then it had a two-digit, odd-number address on South Fifth Street.
An outfit called the Ohio Finance Company had multiple ads in Zanesville papers during the late 1920s, and gave its address as “10 South Fifth Street Opp. New Liberty Theatre.”
The first Liberty had been on North Fifth Street, but had an even number. It must have been the theater mentioned in Bob Jensen’s comment above that had the organ installed in 1920. That house operated under other names for many years after the new Liberty opened.
Primary function was movies, live performances secondary. I believe the 1st Liberty Theater was converted to a J.C. Penney store. It was also on 5th Street.
PLEASE ADD TO ADDRESS:
25 N. 5th Street
SEATS: 1374
Open ~1920-~1975 approximate? Anyone care to verify the the exact dates?
Owners:
1930 Brown Theatrical Company
1940 Zanesville Theaters Inc.
1945-1975 Jamestown Amusement Co.,Inc. (Shea) and affliated companies of New York, N. Y., Gerald J. Shea, President, they had 22 theaters in New Hampshire and Ohio.
That was a MIGHT HILLGREEN-LANE THEATER PIPE ORGAN, Opus 572, a 2/14 Manual(Keyboard)/Rank(Sets of Pipes), made only 100 miles away in Alliance, Ohio. It was installed in 1920 and cost $3,525.
Walter, I never found anything on a another Liberty Theater, but I did find something on a Liberry Theater?