The OES visited Grandview Theatre on April 3, 2009. The theatre was undergoing a major renovation during our visit. While the renovation process was being completed, stenciling on the wall original to the theatre was uncovered, and are included in the photos below. The theatre opened in 1926 and is the oldest, purpose-built movie theatre still in use in Columbus, possibly the oldest in Franklin County, operating from 1926 to 1961. From the early sixties until the early eighties, the outer lobby was used as an antique store called “Church on the Lane Antiques.” Sometime around 1984, the original marquee was removed from the building. This followed the collapse of a cornice in downtown Columbus that seriously injured several people, including City Councilman Ben Espy. After that incident, a number of buildings had cornices removed, and several local theatres had marquees removed.
The theatre opened again and operated for several years before the Drexel Theatres Group took over in 1991. The theatre was renamed “Drexel Grandview” and remained in operation for the next 17 years. In September 2008, the group closed the Drexel Grandview. Shortly after, Columbus Independent Media took a long-term lease on the theatre and re-opened it as Grandview Theatre in 2009. The theatre changed hands again in 2016 and is now the Grandview Theater & Drafthouse. If you have any further information or historical photos of the Grandview Theatre, please email . Click Here to visit Grandview Theatre’s official website.
Thanks to David Nedrow for inviting us to explore the Grandview Theatre during its renovation.
Location Information: Active Business
Grandview Theatre is located at 1247 Grandview Avenue in Grandview Heights; Franklin County.
Photographs
The Grandview Theatre at 1247 Grandview Avenue.
Businesses flanked either side of the theatre's entrance. One served as a candy shop before the theatre had a concession stand.
The main entry to the Grandview Theatre.
The design above the theatre's doors.
Along the side of the theater as seen from the parking lot.
The back side of the building.
These doors served as an emergency exit.
This gated door probably belonged to one of the businesses.
Our last look at the exterior before entering the theatre.
The Grandview Theatre's tile work in the main lobby.
The main lobby of the theatre. The seating was being tested here during our visit.
The square area here is where the theatre's original ticket booth once stood.
Looking toward the main doors from the former ticket booth location.
This was the theatre's ticket machine for many years.
Theatre management hoped to restore the machine so that it could be used once again.
One of the display windows in the lobby.
These displays likely held movie posters for current and upcoming films.
The display window manufacturer's plate.
The ticket booth was located on the back side of the main lobby during our visit.
This door was the original ticket booth and still served as that purpose.
This painting was on the wall just past the ticket booth.
An old jacket that theatre workers used to wear. The new jackets will be modeled from this one.
Construction central during the renovation. This secondary lobby was installed by the Drexel group.
Some stenciling original to the building was revealed after a false wall had been removed.
This was original wallpaper to the left of the stenciling in the previous photo.
The brick wall of the theatre.
An old piano sat in the newer lobby area.
This employee only area off of the lobby contained the ladder to the projection booth.
A remnant of the Grandview Drexel days.
An air vent inside the employees only area.
The women's restroom was the theatre's original and only restroom when it was opened.
Another look at the women's restroom.
The sink inside the restroom.
The men's restroom was originally a walkway that led up to the projection booth.
This ladder led up to the projection booth.
This is where the stairway used to come into the projection booth.
Some of the projection equipment.
Another shot of the equipment in the projection booth.
A storage room just off of the projection booth.
A toilet and sink were provided in the storage area for the projectionist.
An old film canister.
The canister contained an old film reel.
Several more film canisters in the storage room.
The holes in the wall provided an area for the motion pictures to leave the booth.
This large opening let the image through the newer lobby and into the auditorium.
The auditorium of Grandview Theatre was in the midst of renovation.
Much of what you see here is how the theatre appeared in the Drexel days.
The old seating was set to be replaced soon after our visit.
All of the old curtain material was being pulled down from the walls.
Some of the original wallpaper was revealed behind the curtains.
Original stenciling was also revealed behind the curtains.
A closer look at some of the stenciling.
Unfortunately the stencilling had to be recovered for soundproofing.
Being behind the curtains preserved the artwork pretty well.
A closer look at the screen area of the theatre.
The ceiling of the auditorium.
All of the auditorium's seating. Notice the hole in the wall for the projection booth.
Another look at the auditorium.
The stairs that led to the back side of the movie screen.
Some random equipment backstage.
There was a narrow path behind the speakers.
The giant speakers behind the movie screen.
A view of the auditorium through the movie screen.
These rusty stairs led to the boiler room beneath the movie screen.
This is where electricity once came into the theatre.
An old sign that described the air intake procedure.
This heavy metal door separated the boiler room from the air intake room.
The narrow walkway between the air intake room and the boiler room.
A large pipe under the boiler.
The air intake fan.
The area beneath the boiler
The window of the boiler room had been bricked over at some point.
Some type of machine just below the window.
The coal hopper for the boiler.
As you can see, the hopper was still full.
A closer look at the boiler's manufacturer.
Grandview Theatre's boiler.
Lots of debris had collected in the old boiler since it was last in service.
The pipe inside the boiler carried heat up the middle of the theatre's floor.
A look inside the pipe.
Damper switches inside the boiler.
Looking from inside the boiler to the boiler room.
