Courtesy Google Maps
Amherst Theatre was where my family went to see movies during the 1960s. It was located fairly close to those of us on the west side of Lorain, and it was a safe alternative to going to the movie houses in the declining Downtown Lorain. My parents knew that the Matteys (who owned and operated the theater) ran a tight ship and didn't put up with any horseplay from kids. They'd even stop the movie if kids didn't settle down.
Not being from Amherst, I had no idea that there had been an earlier version of Amherst Theater right across the street from the one we went to, and that it had been demolished as late as 1972. The article below, which appeared in the Journal on August 5, 1972 tells the story.
According to the article written by Journal Staff Writer Tom Oney, the theater originally opened as The Empire in 1909. Some time before 1920, the name was changed to The Mary Jane, taking its name from the wife of one of the owners. In the late 1930s, it finally received the name, Amherst Theater.
Here is the link to the theater's website.
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I wrote about the April 1959 Grand Opening of the "new" Amherst Theatre back here.
2 comments:
Went w a group of day campers from Oberlin Country Day Camp for a field trip in the 60's. There was a lady who patrolled the aisles. Even made another camper remove their hat! We behaved.
We went to the old Amherst Theater a few times during the last year it was open; we saw THE OMEGA MAN, CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, THE GODFATHER, and THE FRENCH CONNECTION. A friend of the family took us. Personally, I never found the downtown Lorain theaters to be run down; their age was a part of their charm, even down to the fact that each one smelled differently, sounded different, and were old friends I'd known since childhood. I miss them.
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