By Gary Ogle
gogle@wbcowqel.com
A movie theater often evokes both memories and passions of all kinds and this week’s tour through the burned out Bucyrus theater before it disappears was certainly no different.
For some it may have been a date that meant holding hands with a member of the opposite sex for the first time, or maybe even that stolen first kiss up in the balcony while hidden from peering eyes in the seats below that were glued to the screen.
It might have simply brought back a time when fun was being scared, amused or otherwise entertained by the movie on the big screen, be it cartoon or Western, musical or war drama – but all bigger than life in colors that were brighter than any in real life.
Maybe it was a movie starring a favorite actor or actress, or maybe just the smell of popcorn and the excitement of the house lights going down meaning the show looked forward to all week was about to start.
Those were the memories created in the past at the Schines Theatre that was erected in 1936 on South Sandusky Avenue. But this week the emotions were different knowing that the building that brought enjoyment through imagination and even fantasy to people in a small town was not just going away, for in reality it’s been gone for nearly a quarter century, but going away for good.
The wrecking ball is coming and in the theater’s place will be something else that brings enjoyment, the soon-to-be Schines Art Park.
“It’s bittersweet,” said Bucyrus’ Mayor Jeff Reser after joining firefighters, local media and others in a walk through the burned out structure. “It’s sad that it was left to deteriorate like this. The only option is to turn it into something that will honor it and serve the community for years to come.”
The theater was built by the Schine organization, a family run business that owned and operated about 150 theaters in six states – many of them in the East with some as close as Ashland and Bellefontaine. In fact, the theater in Ashland was closed years ago and is now in the middle of a $4 million restoration project.
In Bucyrus the new theater represented a tremendous gamble and investment for any company when the country was in the middle of the Depression and any nickels and dimes that could be spared for the sake of entertainment were likely to be scarce.
Reser, who grew up in Bucyrus, recalls taking his girlfriend there to see a Vincent Price horror film called The Theater of Blood. Reser jokes his date has never forgiven him to this day for taking her to that movie. She married him anyway.
“It brings back a lot of good memories,” Reser said. “I saw a lot of good movies in the `60s and `70s in there.”
The mayor and downtown businessman readily recalled seeing The Beatles in A Hard Day’s Night along with his brother and another classic from 1972, Lady Sings the Blues.
Fire Chief Jay Keller was on the tour this week as well. He laughed when recalling watching The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the theater. He was also on hand in 1991 when the theater caught fire after closing up for the night. The film being shone then and advertised on the marquis hanging over the sidewalk was a re-released Disney film since remade, 101 Dalmatians.
“It was right there,” Keller said pointing to what remains of the ticket booth in the front lobby as where the fire started. “There was talk the popcorn machine started it, but I think they figured out it was the ticket machine that was left on.”
Looking up at the ceiling that in places looked like a skeleton with only metal framing and steel beams remaining, Keller added with pride that the building itself was saved, “I was on the second truck called in. It worked like it was supposed to. We did a good job that night.”
But between the fire damage, some by smoke and some by water from firehoses, and more than two decades of neglect, the building isn’t salvageable. The roof now has a skylight, although not by design, that lets in sunlight or rain depending on the weather.
This trip to the theater required a mask to protect from asbestos and mold, boots and clothes that could handle some dirt and grime and maybe worse. Most of the theater’s seats were still intact for the most part, but frozen in their folded up positions.
But the destruction and decay still couldn’t hide the glamor and ambiance of an old-time movie theater with what seemed to be extravagant light fixtures on the walls and ceilings. By the time it was ravaged by fire the theater had been remodeled and split in half to show two movies at the same time in an effort to maximize profits and patrons. It was still easy to imagine the enormous single screen that once brought cartoons, feature films and war-time newsreels to life.
The safe door in the manager’s office hangs open, no longer needed to secure the night’s take at the ticket office until a bank deposit could be made. There are empty movie reels and even a string of celluloid buried in the rubble of a room downstairs. Despite their best efforts, firefighter Casey Gillen and Reser were unable to determine what classic movie the strip of film came from.
“There are some unique things,” Reser said about the items still left in the building. “We’ll incorporate some of it into the Schines Art Park.”
The goal is to have the building leveled by the time the Bratwurst Festival comes to town in August. But the city’s administrative assistant, Eunice Collene, who has led the effort to get the theater down and the art park funded, admits that is far from a guarantee. The biggest concerns are asbestos in the old theater and getting the building down without damaging the adjoining building.
“It’s a tight deadline,” Collene said. “No room for hiccups.”
Bid packets for both demolition and asbestos abatement were sent out this week. Pre-bid meetings for both are set for 10 a.m., June 26 on site for interested contractors. Bids will be opened July 1 at City Hall.
A photo gallery of the walk through of the theater can be seen on the Photo page.