The Hanover Theater

 

If you drove past the Hanover Theater today, you would see a building that’s a shadow of its former self.  Once regal and stately, it is now broken and in disrepair.  But that’s not the end of the story. 

It all started back on September 21, 1928, the day the Hanover Theater opened, which at that time the Hanover Theater was known as the State Theater.  The theater was owned by Appell Amusement Enterprises and Fred Bitner.  The building used to be the Wirt Mansion, but it was demolished to make the theater.  The State Theater was going to be the biggest event in Hanover.  There was going to be a lot of plans for the theater such as: special lighting, heating and air conditioning, and lighting in the aisles. They also got a Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ, which cost twenty-thousand dollars at that time.  The theater was able to have silent movies and stage shows.  They had the famous Arthur Brounet decorate the theater.  He also had his very own studio in New York.  It is believed that there are only three theaters left that Arthur Brounet decorated including the Hanover Theater. The architect of the theater was Thomas Lamb who was also very famous for his work.    At the time the State Theater was in business there were no concession stands.  The State Theater had its own candy store in a store front on the left side of the building.  The most expensive theater ticket was forty cents. 

        In the 1940’s the Wurlitzer pipe organ was taken out of the theater and put into a church called Fairview Baptist Church in Alabama.  Unfortunately, the organ was damaged by a restoration gone wrong and water damage from a leaking roof in the church.  The church then donated the organ to the Birmingham chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society.  It has also been said that the society is thinking about giving the organ back to Hanover.  In 1960 the theater got a little renovation. They had to put sound padding on the walls and replace the seats.  They had also put in a ticket booth from the Park Theater.  The Park Theater used to be the Hanover Opera House.  At the same time the renovation was being done the theater name was changed to the Hanover Theater.  In the 1980’s the Fox Brothers movie chain took over the Hanover Theater.  In 1986 the Fox Brothers sold the theater to a couple who were antique dealers.  They were planning on turning the theater into an antique shop.  They started on the renovations which meant everything needed to be taken out.  There is known to be only one seat left that didn’t get trashed from the renovations.  The owners got into a little bit of financial trouble and the renovations had to be stopped.  They then used the theater as storage for their antiques.   In June of 2007 a group of people who restored old buildings asked the owners if they would consider selling them the theater so they could restore it.  They said, “Ok”.  A few years have gone by and the restoration still hasn’t happened.  The restoration kept getting postponed which was a definite bad thing, because any more complications of getting the theater restored and they were going to lose the theater.  Finally, on January 17, 2012 the Evening Sun posted an article saying that the Hanover Theater was added to the Preservation Risk-List.  That means the theater will not be harmed, but also will be restored back to its original condition.   

     

The Hanover Theater in 1931 when it was known as The State Theater.  This photo is courtesy of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Found on this website on Google: http://dclucky.blogspot.com/2011/07/theater-mansionand-delays.html   

The Hanover Theater 2008. The theater looks the same today as it did in 2008. Nothing has really changed.  Picture was done by: Cinema Treasures.  Here is their link: http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/14285  

If you want to see more photos and other info here is the Hanover Theater's website: http://www.hanovertheater.info/