"Old" Amherst Theater Comes Down – August 1972

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.

Grand Opening of Amherst Theater – April 16, 1959

Going to the movies was something we used to do fairly often as a family when I was kid.

To see “big event” films (those that had intermissions), such as How the West was Won (1962) and It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), we would drive into Cleveland. But if we were just going out for a night at the movies, we almost always went to Amherst Theatre, as opposed to any of the movie houses in Downtown Lorain.

One of the many movies
we saw at Amherst Theatre

Why? Well, Amherst Theatre was closer to our home on Lorain’s west side. But more importantly, the Mattey family (owners and operators of Amherst Theater at that time) ran a safe, modern, no-nonsense theater. No horseplay was allowed. (This is in stark contrast to my comical experiences in Downtown Lorain’s Summer Movie program, which I wrote about here.)

We saw a lot of movies at Amherst Theatre, including all of John Wayne’s movies from the late 60s and early 70s, as well as whatever new Walt Disney movie was in release. I can still remember seeing The Jungle Book (1967), mainly because during the movie I looked over and saw my dad, fast asleep.

Anyway, it was sixty years ago this month that the new Amherst Theater opened on April 16, 1959. Above is the full page ad that ran in the Journal on the day before.

Happily, Amherst Theatre is still around today (although it is now known as Amherst Cinema).

Here’s a modern view of the theater, courtesy of the Lorain County Auditor website.

For a history of the original Amherst movie house that the Amherst Theatre replaced, click here to visit the CinemaTreasures website.