I was traipsing around the Williams County Courthouse in Bryan, Ohio, when I turned a corner and stopped in my tracks. There it was -the Bryan Theatre- its marquee glowing brilliantly in the afternoon sun! Small-town cinemas have always had a hold on me, and this one was no exception. I snapped a quick, off-kilter photo from across the square and promised myself I’d learn more about the place’s history. Seven years later, I finally have.
Opened by Ellaness Theatres of Cleveland on January 31, 19401, the Bryan originally sat seven hundred patrons in an auditorium that featured “the latest in sound equipment, the newest in heating, air conditioning and, in the summer, air cooling2.” On opening night, the theater played three shorts, a Walt Disney cartoon, and the crime comedy Raffles starring David Niven3.
The Bryan lasted nearly forty years in its original configuration before new sound equipment and 1600-watt Xenon bulbs were installed in the late 1970s. The venerable theater was divided into two three-hundred-seat auditoriums in 19804, then sold to MNC Theatres of Defiance and renamed the Bryan Bijou in 19885.
Among other improvements, MNC installed a new box office and concession area, stereo sound, a background music system, and a third auditorium for $125,0006. Jim and Joyce Boyd took over the theater in 19997, just in time to celebrate its 60th anniversary. Nearly 200 people turned out for the occasion, highlighted by a special reshowing of Raffles8. The theatre was purchased again in April, 20189. Today, it’s still showing movies.
Nearly seven years after passing the Bryan, I can’t help but wish I had stopped to catch a movie while I had the chance. I had places to go, but there’s something about small-town theaters that feels like stepping into another era. I wonder what it might have felt like to sit among the crowd and soak in the atmosphere of a place with so much history.
Sources Cited
1 New Bryan Theater To Be Opened Next Week on Wednesday (1940, January 25). The Bryan Democrat. p. 1.
2 (See footnote 1).
3 New Bryan Theatre Opens, Welcomed By Large Audience (1940, February 1). The Bryan Democrat. p. 1.
4 Freed, L. (1988, June 7). Theatre reopens without a Yahraus. The Bryan Times. p. 9.
5 MNC note changes at Bryan Theatre (1988, July 12). The Bryan Times. p. 9.
6 Bijou renovates theatre (1990, June 5). The Bryan Times. p. 10.
7 Hummel, M. (2009, December 15). Theatre showing success. The Bryan Times. p. 15.
8 Hummel, M. (2000, February 1). It’s showtime! The Bryan Times. p. 1.
9 Allison, D. (2018, July 14). New owner shares plans for Bryan Theatre. The Bryan Times. p. 6.
