MARIEMONT, Ohio — After months of uncertainty and financial hardship, the historic Mariemont Theatre is ready to light up its marquee once again, thanks to support from the community.
Cindependent, a local nonprofit and the theatre's new owner, announced on Wednesday that they have reached their $1 million fundraising goal and are now finalizing the grand opening date.
"We did it! Thank you to everyone!" said Allyson West, founder of Cindependent. "I have had the privilege of personally talking with so many people who have movie memories of the theatre, and people who want to get the lights back on and the doors back open as much as we do."
RELATED: Mariemont Theatre aims to reopen in mid-summer
Mariemont Mayor Bill Brown told us the owner of the building evicted the theater's previous owner, Theatre Management Corporation, at the end of January and gave them until the start of March to leave. Cindependent announced at the end of January that it planned to take over operations of the theater.
The 88-year-old theater has sat empty, its marquee bare, since Theatre Management Corporation packed up everything and left. West said that when her team got the keys to the building, they found rows of empty floor space where theater chairs once sat. The original marquee letters were also found in a box tucked away in the theater.
"Everything that we need to play movies in the Mariemont Theatre was taken out of the theater," West said.
Since then, Cindependent has been working to get the funding to replace everything that was removed from the building, including new screens, a new audio system and a popcorn machine.
"There are five new projectors, meaning that the visuals you see will be crisper," West said.
West said the theatre will remain the familiar community staple it's been for years.
As Cindpendent finalizes a date for the grand reopening, the nonprofit is also planning to hire staff to help bring the historic cinema back to life.
"We've reached the starting line," West said.
