CAPA Celebrates The Southern Theatre's 125th Birthday With a Free Open House

In celebration of the Southern Theatre's 125th birthday, CAPA will offer a free open house on Sunday, September 26, from 1-4 pm. Proudly listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Southern Theatre opened on September 21, 1896, as a "modern," jewel box-style opera house, offering performances from some of the greatest names of the theatrical world and a new genre called Broadway. Owned and operated by CAPA since 1986, the 933-seat Southern Theatre is Columbus' oldest existing theatre and the only remaining double-balcony theatre.

The Southern will be open for self-guided tours that include access to its stage and rarely seen backstage areas such as the dressing rooms, orchestra pit, and fly loft. Local docents will be scattered throughout, offering historical information and interesting, and perhaps lesser known, facts about the venue.

CAPA presents the Southern Theatre 125th Birthday Celebration Open House on Sunday, September 26, from 1-4 pm. Self-guided tours include stairs. Large bags/backpacks are prohibited. No reservations required. Admission is free. Masks are required.

The Southern Theatre opened on September 21, 1896, just two years after the creation of "Broadway" in New York. Opening-day entertainment was the Broadway touring production In Gay New York, and a wide variety of comedians, opera stars, and American stage players followed soon after, including actors W.C. Fields, Sarah Bernhardt, and Ethel, John, and Lionel Barrymore; musicians Victor Herbert, Al Jolson, and George M. Cohan; and dancers Isadora Duncan and Anna Pavlova.

In 1914, the Southern was fitted with a screen for silent films, and by 1931, was showing first-run motion pictures. With the opening of the larger, more modern Ohio, Palace, and Hartman Theatres downtown, the Southern became a popular spot for community-based events.

By the 1950s and '60s, time had taken its toll on the building and attendance sharply declined with the increasing popularity of television. In the 1960s, the Southern was used as a second-run movie house, drawing youngsters for Godzilla matinees, "Beach Blanket" movies, and Kung Fu films. In 1979, the Southern Theatre officially closed.

In 1982, the Great Southern Hotel and Theatre were purchased by local developers with plans to renovate the hotel. In 1986, they made a gift of the Southern Theatre to CAPA.

CAPA rallied the community, raising $10 million to fund a 14-month, total restoration of the Southern Theatre, reopening with a grand celebration on September 26, 1998. Today, the thriving and beautiful Southern Theatre hosts a variety of concerts and performances, and is home to Opera Columbus, the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, Chamber Music Columbus, and the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra.

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