Nearly eighty years of movies have rolled by at the Castle Theatre, which first opened its doors in 1935. It is the last in a line of as many as eight theaters that have entertained New Castle residents since 1907.With the announcement this week that the Castle would soon embark on another fundraising campaign to purchase digital equipment, this columnist thought it might be interesting and fun to reflect on the city’s movie theater history – as interesting in itself as any movie ever shown on the big screen.

In his “Historic Henry County” books, Herbert L. Heller included portions of an article written by Walter S. Chambers Jr. for the centennial edition of The Courier-Times.

New Castle’s very first movie theater was in a downtown building that still stands today, one that awaits a dramatic transformation – the Jennings Building.

On Jan. 10, 1907, a place called the Theatorium opened in the basement of the Jennings Building. In the next day’s issue of the Courier, Walter S. Chambers Jr. called the event “auspicious.”

“The large crowds that attended the performances during the evening indicated that the idea is going to catch on in New Castle,” Chambers wrote. “The program of moving pictures and illustrated songs was excellent, the room is comfortable and very attractive and the imposing entrance caught the crowd.”

The idea of moving pictures did, indeed, catch on – so fast, in fact, that just a few short years after the Theatorium opened it was considered “a dump” compared to newer facilities that came after it. In one of his writings, Chambers referred to it as the “peanut-cluttered” Theatorium.

“People talked of the Theatorium as a ‘hole in the ground,'” Chambers wrote. “It’s location was a basement, its 225 seats were folding chairs, except for a few bleachers in the back, and it was usually dirty, but it was the first movie theatre in town, and therefore was an historic place.”

Within a 10-year period of the Theatorium opening, New Castle residents greeted three more theatres. The Grand opened in 1910. The Royal greeted movie-goers at 1409 Broad St. in 1912. The Strand began its short run in 1917.

Going to the movies in those early days was like going to see a variety show. The silent movies, themselves, lasted only about 10 to 15 minutes.

“The rest of the half hour’s entertainment consisted of illustrated songs,” Chambers explained. “A hired singer would get up on stage and sing a well-known song while slides were thrown on the screen illustrating it.”

Chambers wrote that the theater was open from 7 to 10 p.m. with six performances each evening.

Before the movies came to town, New Castle theaters hosted many vaudeville acts that brought a few legendary names to town. In his book, “Henry County at the Millennium” historian Richard Ratcliff wrote that Bob Hope performed at the Princess Theatre. He also said that Otis Skinner, Francis Bushman, Busby Berkley and Irene Dunne were among the once-famous stars that performed at New Castle’s Alcazar Theater.

Local entertainment changed forever in 1929, when the first “talkie,” as they called it then, was shown at the Princess.

In the years that followed, New Castle residents would have many choices of theaters. In 1933, the theaters available included the Starette at 1329 Broad St, the Royal at 1409 Broad St., the Ideal at 1508 Broad St. and the Princess at 232 S. Main St.

As movies got better, living in New Castle had to be a movie-lover’s dream come true.

Chambers wrote that the first two-reel feature ever to play in New Castle was “Romeo and Juliet” at the Starette. Meanwhile, the Royal Theater brought “Birth of a Nation” to town.

The late Bill Denney managed the Castle Theatre for 35 years and also worked at the Princess, the Royal and the Starette. In a 1988 interview he told the story of how a good movie can make audience members feel like they are right on screen experiencing what the actors are portraying.

“The night ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ played here, there was no way you could keep the soft drink machine filled,” Denney said.

One of the more locally famous photos of the Castle Theatre is a long line of people waiting near the marquee, which advertised “Gone With the Wind.”

Here’s hoping that won’t be the fate of New Castle’s last link to a grand theater history.

Darrel Radford is a staff writer for The Courier-Times and a board member for The Henry County Historical Society. Learn more about New Castle’s theater history by visiting the historical society museum at 606 S. 14th St. Hours are 1 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.