PHOTOS FROM INSIDE THE OHIO

It isn't often that you get to see or hear something over 75 years old as it was when it was built. Such is the case with the inside of the Ohio Theatre and its Robert Morton Organ. The theater's interior is largely unchanged from when it was built in 1928. Here are some photos for your viewing enjoyment. These photos hardly do the theater justice in showing just how spectacular the interior is. I've lightened them up a little but I did not want to do it too much otherwise some of the warm red/orange color is lost. Click on the thumbnail to see a larger image.
main chamber
View of the main chamber

solo chamber
View of the solo chamber

view of ceiling above procenium

I've always liked the look of the ceiling above the procenium. The lighting reminds me of how the sun's rays reflect up into the sky at sunset. Also note the large face at the bottom center of the photo, one of  many in the architecture of the theater.

star
 Two of the signature architectural features of the Ohio Theatre are its star and chandelier in the main room. The chandelier weighs approximately 2 1/2 tons and takes an hour or so to lower or raise it. The theater's maintenance staff lowers it every other year to clean it and replaces every bulb whether burnt out or not. There are 240 lights outside the chandelier, and 99 lights inside it.

view of room from back
The acoustics of the theater have often been lauded as exceptional and were often cited as a reason to save the theater when the future of the theater was in doubt in 1969. Sound travels amazingly well in this room despite the carpeted floors and chairs. In fact as you sit and talk in the theater the "deadness" of the sound is evident, yet there is still just enough resonance to allow sound to travel all the way to this vantage point in the last row in the balcony of the theater. Here we can see patrons stretching and enjoying Clark Wilson's playing during intermission at the showing of "Cabaret" on August 17, 2006. The Morton's console has an angelic glow and contrasts with the dark, warm colors of the theater.

view of room from floor

Here is a view of the theater from the floor almost directly in front of the organ console. As can be seen the mezzanine is as elegantly decorated as the rest of the room. Almost everyone has left after the showing of the silent film "A Woman of Affairs" on August 10, 2006. Resident Organist Clark Wilson accompanied the film.
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