Our Locations

Ada Theatre .:. Elder Theatre .:. Kenton Theatre .:. Hi-Road Drive In

215 S. Main Street Ada, Ohio, 45810 (Map To This Location)
Phone:	(419) 634-9127
Admission:	All Admissions: $3.50
A Brief History:
The Ada Theatre was built in 1938. It was originally finished with decorative plaster and intricate design work on the walls and ceiling. In later years, the theatre was painted orange and black in recognition of Ohio Northern University, also located in Ada. The first manager of the Ada Theatre was Charlie Hawk. He went on to own the Ada and was the active manager of the theatre for 38 years. It is said that his ghost can still be heard walking in the theatre, and on occasion can still be seen looking out the projection booth porthole. After Mr. Hawk's death, the Ada passed through a number of owners/operators before finally being closed in 1983. The Millers first heard about the Ada Theatre in 1986. The first time they saw the theatre it was in deplorable condition. The marquee was riddled with holes. Some members of the local pigeon population had begun to use these holes as their homes. Once inside the theatre, the Millers discovered that it was in such poor shape that they could actually see the sky through the many holes in the roof. The concession stand was nothing more than a hut, and was empty inside. The projection booth had been completely gutted. There was no heat or air conditioning. The once noble screen was lying wrecked upon the floor. There was no sound system, and no fixtures in the restrooms. The only positive the Millers were able to find were the seats. And even these weren't in that great of shape. Originally a 500 seat house, it had been downsized to 250. All in all, the Ada was so badly neglected that it was hardly recognizable as a theatre at all. It was in VERY bad shape. After much thought and consideration, the Millers decided to revitalize the wreck, and bring it back to life. A huge project that showed not only the Millers love for theatres, but also that a prerequisite of being a theatre owner is to be a little crazy! The Millers knew that they faced a daunting challenge, but they saw the potential in the mess that was before them. Their first job was to fix the roof. The holes were quickly patched, and the general integrity of the remainder of the roof was confirmed. Comfortable in the fact that they were now under a roof that wouldn't leak, they turned their attention to the inside. On the first day they used scoop shovels to remove trash and debris from the theatre. They started tearing out everything that was junk and threw it into a trailer. In the end, nearly everything but the seats were removed and disposed of. After the major clearing out of debris was finished, the Millers began to put it all back together. They began by enclosing the standee rail area. The standee rail area was a place at the back of the theatre where patrons could stand while still watching the show. This area was used when no seats were available, or by patrons who just needed to stretch their legs. This area was enclosed so that theatre could have an enclosed concession stand. They installed new heating and air conditioning systems, and a new automated projection booth featuring a Simplex 35 projector installed left over from the Elder Theatre automation project. In addition to installing the new projector, the Millers also installed a new drive platter and a new smart stereo sound system. In the theatre, they installed new wall coverings, a new screen , and new seat coverings. They put in new carpeting, and new fixtures in the restrooms. The ceiling in the auditorium was also painted black . As for the pigeons in the marquee, Rod Miller began an uphill battle to not only repair the marquee, but to also convince the pigeons to move out. After cleaning the pigeons homes out, he rewired and painted the marquee and installed new facing glass. The day that the glass was installed, he was again fighting with the pigeons who still thought it was their home. After the glass was installed, one of the pigeons flew into the glass and landed on the ground. After walking about a bit, the pigeon looked up at the Marquee for a few minutes, and then flew off to find a new home. A mere three months after starting the renovation of the Ada Theatre, opened for business on Friday, Nov 26, 1986. Admission was $1.50 for all seats, and the first film shown was Top Gun. Since opening, the Millers have done a number of renovations to the theatre. In December of 1988 they replaced the old wooden doors with new all glass doors, and replaced the black glass on the front of the building. They also restored two of the poster cases that had been covered over with wood. In 1989 They had a new ceiling put in the theatre along with a new, larger screen. New seats were installed in 1995. By respacing the seats, it became a 324 seat house. In January of the year 2000 they had the marquee refurbished and the lights behind the facing were replaced, and was modified for the use of six inch letters. And the renovation of the theatre continues. The Millers are currently working on plans to remodel the lobby of the Ada Theatre. They want to install a larger concession stand. The Millers have enjoyed many special activities at the Ada Theatre. Their favorite was on Nov 18th - 24th, 1988. The Ada Theatre celebrated 50 years of operation, and featured the films "Healthy, Wealthy And Dumb" starring the Three Stooges, Bugs Bunny in "What's Opera Doc?", and the Marx Brothers in "A Night At The Opera". All of this for the admission price of 25 cents for adults and 10 cents for children. In addition, they ran a pop and popcorn special for only 50 cents.

106 W. Pike Street Jackson Center, Ohio,45334 (Map To This Location)
Phone:	(937) 596-6424
Admission:	All Admissions - $3.50
A Brief History:
The Elder Theatre was built by Elder Duff, and opened on Nov 2,1941. The 500 seat theatre was the first in the state to have a cry room. A cry room was a sound proof room were mothers could take their crying youngsters and still watch the movie without bothering other patrons, it was equipped with both rocking chairs and a crib. The theatre seats were from a Grand Rapids firm, and were purchased before the theatre was even built. They were stored until they were needed. The original staff was all female, and wore uniforms of blue and gold. Admission was 30 cents for adults and 10 cents for children. Typical of theatres built during the pre-tv era, the Elder was richly decorated, including large tapestries that adorned the walls. These tapestries can still be found beneath the burlap coverings that now grace the walls. In 1949 tv 's popularity began to rise, and Mr. Duff decided to sell the theatre. It was purchased by Ted Crist of Spencerville, Ohio. Mr. Crist operated the Elder for one and a half years before selling it to Clarence & Cora Brown of Lima, Ohio. The Browns operated the theatre seven days a week, and then in later years only opened it for weekend shows. In 1981 Mr Brown experienced health problems and the theatre was closed temporally in the hopes that it could be quickly reopened. This was not to be the case, and in late 1981 the Elder was put up for sale. In September of 1982 the current owners Rodney & Becky Miller toured the Elder and decided to go in to business for themselves. With the help of family members the Elder was remolded and opened for business on Nov 12, 1982. The first movie shown by the Millers was "Rocky 3". Admission was a $1.00 for any seat in the house. The Elder has undergone several renovations while under the ownership of the Millers. The first remodeling project occurred before the theatre was even opened. It was a renovation of the concession stand and standee area. The original concession stand featured a candy case and a Star popcorn machine. It was located in the entrance area of the theatre. Pop, if desired, was purchased from a vending machine located in the standee rail area. The standee rail area was a place at the back of the theatre where patrons could stand while still watching the show. This area was used when no seats were available, or by patrons who just needed to stretch their legs. This area also had a nickel candy machine. This vending machine was purchased new for the Elder in the mid 40's, and is still used in the lobby today. During the remodeling the standee rail area was enclosed, in order to provide an enclosed lobby. They also constructed a new concession stand in order to better serve their patrons. A few years later, the lobby area was enlarged by completely removing the standee rail, along with two rows of seats. A new, larger concessions area was added, again in order to keep up with the changing demands of the patrons. This larger concessions area allowed for a larger selection of items for purchase. Sometime during the 1960's, a new Silver Screen was installed so that the theatre could show Cinema Scope pictures. The Millers replaced this screen with one that measures 11feet by 20 feet. Plans are currently being worked on to install a new curved screen that will measure 15 feet by 36 feet. This will require that the screen be moved out to provide the necessary space. When the Millers reopened the Elder in 1982, the projection booth was still vintage 1942 . The projector heads were Simplex 35's with the simplex sound heads. These projectors featured fire safety shutters that were required to run the old nitrate films. Light was provided by Peerless Carbon Arc machines that burned carbon rods. These rods, combined with the combustibility of nitrate films posed an obvious fire hazard, thus the need for the shutters. The projector, while functional was obviously out of date, especially considering that nitrate films were replaced in the late 1960's with safety film. Because of the age of the equipment, and the fact that the films were on twenty minute reels, someone was required to be in the booth the entire time the movie was running. In 1991, the Millers automated the projection booth. The automation box was installed to run the entire system. Now when show time rolls around, all a staff member must do is press the start button located behind the concession stand. The system automatically lowers the house lights, and starts the projector and sound. Assuming there are no technical difficulties, the system also will sense the end of the movie, shut down the projectors, and bring the house lights back up. This automation meant that the Millers had to modernize the projector. The original projector heads are still being used. Mr. Miller says that they run better then some of the new ones he has seen. They did have to remove the inside of the lamp house and install a 2000 watt Xeon light bulb for the light source. The film still comes in on the twenty minute reels, but is now spliced together into one continues length. This film is then loaded onto a Platter system. As the name implies, this is a large rotating table that looks like an oversized platter. From there, the film is threaded through a center mechanism over to the projector then taken back over and re-spooled on a second platter. With this system, when the film is over, it is rewound and ready to be threaded and shown again. The Millers shared some interesting facts concerning these films. A twenty minute reel can hold 2,000 feet of film. With the average film being comprised of 5 reels, that's a total film length of 10,000 feet. Film runs through the projector at the rate of 24 frames per second. That is 18 inches of film per second. To give you some idea of the incredible lengths that some films span, take a look at the recent movie "The Green Mile". This film is 10 reels, so it is about 20,000 feet long, or the length of 55 football fields laid end to end! The original sound system in the Elder was an army surplus World War II power amplifier that had the unfortunate habit of losing power the longer it was on. The Millers replaced that system with a new mono system two years after they bought the theatre. In the early 90's, the Millers again renovated the sound system and installed a Smart Stereo System. Currently, they are working on plans to install a new sound system to compliment the new curved screen. In the 17 years that the Millers have owned the Elder Theatre, it has been the site of many special events. Some of the more memorable ones for the Millers include: July, 1984. The Elder played host to Big Time Wrestling featuring "Big Jim Lancastor" defending his Midwest Heavyweight Championship, and a nine man over-the-rope Battle Royal. Nov 20, 1992. The Elder celebrated 50 years of operation by showing "Casablanca" with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Admission price was 30 cents for adults and 10 cents for children, the same as opening night in 1942. Concession specials and door prizes also marked the Celebration. Sept 4, 1994. The Elder hosted a Movie Madness Marathon. Starting at 9:45 p.m. Sunday, and lasting until 6:15 a.m. Monday. The night featured four PG rated movies with a host of different activities between the shows. Numerous door prizes were given away throughout the night.

221 W. Franklin Street Kenton, Ohio, 43326 (Map To This Location)
Phone:	(419) 673-3125
Admission:	Before 6:00 pm - All Seats $4.00 Evenings Adults age 12 & up are $5.50 Children 2-11 are $4.75 Senior Citizens age 65 & over $4.75
A Brief History:
The Kenton Theatre is an old Schines House built in the early 1930's The Millers are currently researching this theatre, as not much is known about its early years. What they do know is that it was originally decorated in a Spanish style, and featured many painted murals on its walls. The Millers purchased the Kenton Theatre in June of 1993. The theatres condition had deteriorated, and they were unable to salvage the original wall murals. Instead, the Millers decided to start over, and began a major renovation of the theatre. The first order of business was to clean out the theatre. After it had been cleaned out, they began to put it back together again. An all new concession stand was built along with new restrooms. The balcony was extended, and a wall was built running down the center of the balcony area so that there could be two theatres in the upstairs area. It is interesting to note that the seating style found in the balcony theatres of the Kenton is identical to the now popular "stadium seating" that theatres are installing. So, the newest rage in theatre design has actually been around since at least the early 1930's. By splitting the balcony area the Millers were able to make the Kenton a three screen complex. But the renovation of the theatre didn't stop there. An all new projection and sound systems were also installed. In addition, new screens, carpeting, wall coverings, acoustical sound panels, and ceilings. They also installed new heating and air conditioning systems. More recently, the Millers installed air conditioning in the lobby, and in the balcony theatres. They also cleaned and repainted the entire theatre. In 1995 the original theatre seats were removed and new seats were installed in all the houses. By far the most noticeable change came in 1994 when the Millers installed a new marquee on the outside of the building. The original had been tore down years before, but the Millers had a photograph of it. They took that photo to Terry & Jack Neon Sign Company. Using the photo as a guide, they were able to manufacture the new marquee that graces the front of the theatre.

8059 State Route 68 North Kenton , Ohio, 43326 (Map To This Location)
Phone:	(419) 675-0922
Admission:	Adults (age 12 and up): $6.00 Children (age 2 - 11): $2.00 Children (under 2): FREE! If you are bringing in food or beverages (including water)you must purchase a permit for $5.00 per vehicle.
A Brief History:
The HI-Road Drive In was built in the 1940’s. It has a lot capable of holding over 600 cars. The original screen at the Drive In measured 40’x 80’. That screen was blown down in the early 70s and was replaced with a screen measuring 20’x 40’. In 1999 the Millers purchased the HI - Road Drive. It was in very bad condition, and efforts began in February of 1999 to bring it back to life. The concession building was cleaned and repainted. All the old concession equipment was removed and replaced with new equipment. The concession stand is now self-serve. It has everything from fresh popcorn to hot dogs and hamburgers. Both restrooms have also been fully redone. The Millers spent a good deal of time and effort on cleaning up the lot. At the edges of the lot, they removed large amounts of debris, along with all of the trees & bushes that had been allowed to grow. One of their big fix up projects was to have the original Art Craft marquee repaired with all new facing and all the broken neon replaced. This project was a success, and the marquee is back to the former glory of when it was first installed. The Millers are currently considering a new screen to be installed this year. That screen would measure 35’ x 70’. They would also like to install lighted entrance and exit signs, along with running lights around the outside edge of the lot along the driveway area. In the concession stand, look for new food items including ice cream and pizza!