Hippodrome & Colony Theatres

Built in 1919 and first called the Hippodrome, the Peoples Bank Theatre reflected the era when movies were moving from silent films and nickelodeons into a major national industry and pastime. Designed by Columbus architect Fred Elliott for the C&M (Cambridge and Marietta) Amusement Company, it featured a granite archway, 1,200 seats, a 35-by-55-foot stage, an orchestra pit, and the first air conditioning of its kind in Marietta. It opened on May 9, 1919, with the silent film Daddy Long Legs, starring Mary Pickford. Shea Theatres of New York bought and remodeled the theatre in 1949, replacing its distinctive stone archway with a two-story southern colonial-style facade. Renamed the Colony, it opened on June 25, 1949, showing Esther Williams' musical Neptune's Daughter. Over the years, it hosted performers including Boris Karloff, Kitty Wells, and Ernest Tubb, and Rock Hudson appeared there for the world premiere of the 1957 film Battle Hymn, in which he portrayed Marietta native Lt. Col. Dean Hess. Low attendance and high utility bills closed the theatre in December 1985. Local philanthropist Dan Stephan Sr. bought the building in 1988 and donated it to the Hippodrome/Colony Historical Theatre Association in 2004. The goal of reopening the theatre was achieved on January 8, 2016, through support from Peoples Bank, community gifts, historic preservation tax credits for rehabilitation work in 2016, and local, state, and federal grants and appropriations. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Marietta Historic District.

Marietta, Ohio · United States