Gloria Theatre

Opened as the Clifford Theatre in 1905, it was designed by architect George Otis Garnsey and was destroyed by fire in 1941. It was rebuilt, opening as the Gloria Theatre on December 25, 1941. I grew up in the Gloria Theatre in Urbana, Ohio. My father, Jack Frazee, was the manager of this beautiful movie house for many years.

The theatre was built by Warren Grimes, the owner of Urbana-based Grimes Manufacturing Company. It was named for Mr. Grimes' daughter, Gloria. It has always been operated, to my knowledge by Chakeres Theaters Inc.

The building reflected the architecture of the 1940’s, with rounded corners, indirect lighting, and sweeping, Art-Deco style lines. It had an outer lobby and a huge inner lobby, in which new automobiles were often displayed. The auditorium was quite large for a small-town theatre. It probably contained about 600 seats. There was no balcony.

A unique feature of the Gloria Theatre was “Grimes Booth.” This was a private viewing room on the second floor of the theatre that was reserved for the Grimes family.

The Gloria Theatre was twined on April 1, 1977 and renamed the Urbana Cinemas. It was still in operation as a Chakeres Theatre. It was ‘temporarily closed’ for renovations in April 2010. It was reopened in October 2015 with “Ghostbusters”. Further renovations were carried out in Fall of 2021 when it became a single screen theatre. It is planned to construct a balcony seating area to increase capacity.

Recent comments (view all 21 comments)

rivest266 on January 26, 2014 at 1:54 pm

This is now closed.

graceways on August 8, 2014 at 1:21 pm

Facebook page: Remembering the Urbana Cinema / Gloria Theatre

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Remembering-the-Urbana-Cinema-Gloria-Theatre/576669955703067

Facebook page of the nonprofit group working to restore the theatre: https://www.facebook.com/grandworksorg

Reed A Embrey on February 19, 2016 at 8:40 am

Gloria is re-opened since Oct. 2015. Opened with Ghostbusters! Grand works foundation, Urbana Methodist Church, & citizens have contributed to bringing back this now only in Champaign county gem! A large army of volunteers have been replairing & replacing the curtains, projection, stage and screen. Live venues too have been booked….

Joe Vogel on February 19, 2016 at 10:02 am

GrandWorks Foundation has brought the name Gloria Theatre back to this house. A renovation project is ongoing. The venue is to be operated as a “…multi-purpose entertainment, business and community center….” Here is their web site.

The December 23, 1968, issue of Boxoffice has a brief notice about the two-screen Urbana Cinema, slated to be opened by Chakeres Theatres on Christmas Day. The opening would also mark the 27th anniversary of the opening of the house as the Gloria Theatre, on Christmas Day 1941.

An earlier Boxoffice item, from July 11, 1966, said that Chakeres Theatres had bought the Gloria, which the chain had operated under a lease for the previous twenty-five years, from Warren Grimes.

Drive-In 54 on March 6, 2016 at 6:03 pm

Just uploaded some new pictures. I was passing through town.

Joe Vogel on May 14, 2018 at 10:30 am

The April 20, 1907, issue of the Chicago financial journal The Economist had this item:

“George 0. Garnsey has completed plans and will take figures for a three-story addition, 43x90, to the front of a theater in Urbana, Ohio, for the Clifford Amusement Company. The first floor will contain the main entrance, a store and restaurant, and the upper floors will contain an armory. It will cost $25,000.”

As George Otis Garnsey (1840-1923) was a fairly well-known theater architect (some forty theaters and opera houses, mostly in smaller midwestern cities), it’s possible that he also designed the Clifford Theatre as it was originally built in 1905.

SethG on April 17, 2021 at 2:27 pm

The 1910 map shows the ‘Billy S. Clifford Theatre’ had quite a large balcony. Perhaps this was torn out in the remodel. There is indeed an armory on the upper two stories.

The 1909-10 Cahn guide calls it the New Clifford Theatre, and gives the capacity as 1,200. Billy was the owner, while Ed. C. Clifford is listed as the manager.

rivest266 on January 4, 2023 at 1:34 am

Grand opening as cinema.

Urbana Cinema opening 24 Dec 1968, Tue The Urbana Daily Citizen (Urbana, Ohio) Newspapers.com

rivest266 on January 4, 2023 at 1:39 am

Became a twin on April 1st, 1977

Urbana twin cinema 31 Mar 1977, Thu The Urbana Daily Citizen (Urbana, Ohio) Newspapers.com

Trolleyguy on January 4, 2023 at 7:13 am

The website has it now open with one screen only.