Bright lights, small town, Campus Theatre re-lights

    The bright lights of long-lost Milledgeville nights returned to downtown in the form of the lighting of the Campus Theatre for the first time in over 20 years on Friday, Sept. 1.
    Sponsored by the new student apartment complex, Magnolia Park, the landmark building was cleaned up, painted and lit for the community for the first time since closing its doors in 1983.
    For long-time Milledgeville residents the Campus Theatre has stood as a fading remnant of a once-great place for social gatherings and movie viewings.
    Dr. Bob Wilson, history professor and university historian, explained that people have such great memories of the theatre.
    “It was your typical small town movie theatre,” Wilson said. “Everyone would go and know each other and have a good time.”
    For students, however, the theatre is seen as an old, empty building with little meaning.
    Chris Mitchell, a sophomore business major, said that he walked by the theatre a lot when he was downtown last year.
    “I didn’t really know a whole lot about it, but I thought it would be nice if someone cleaned it up,” Mitchell said. “I’m glad Magnolia stepped up.”
    Melissa Olsen, the manager of Magnolia Park, said that they really wanted to do the community a service.
    “The Brick was making their front look nice and we thought that we would do our part by helping restore something very special to the citizens here,” Olsen said.
    The Campus Theatre opened its doors on March 18, 1935, with the showing of Frank Capra’s “Broadway Bill.” The theatre was filled to capacity for this major event in Milledgeville’s history.
    For nearly 50 years its doors remained open showing movies ranging from Audrey Hepburn titles to “The Godfather.” It was also a local venue for live entertainment.
    Although the theatre is remembered for so many good things, it does have some dark history.
    A sign of the times in the rural south, the Campus Theatre was completely segregated. The ticket booth had separate lines for black and white customers and black customers were forced to sit upstairs in the balcony.
    The theatre is also remembered for its part in one of the most infamous murders in Milledgeville history.
    In 1953, a man named Marion Stembridge sought out and killed lawyer Marion Ennis in the upstairs offices of the building.
    Ennis had represented Stembridge who was on trial for killing a black woman. However, Ennis removed himself from the case when he realized that Stembridge was truly guilty.    
     Stembridge proceeded to kill Ennis then move to the Sanford building located next door to kill another lawyer, Thomas Bivens. Stembridge then took his own life before the police could apprehend him.
      These sinister memories were not on the minds of the nearly 500 people who showed up to celebrate the relighting of the marquee.
    With the roads blocked off, people filtered into the downtown area to view the historic relighting. With snacks and beverages offered at the prices the theatre sold them for in the past, the party atmosphere was in the air.
    Magnolia Park has signed a two-year lease agreement that allows them to use the marquee for advertising in exchange for their restorations.
    “I think it’s helped in advertising, getting our name out and getting attention,” Olsen said. “Before we had our buildings we just had a trailer and I think some students didn’t find that appealing, so by being there, it was a way for students to find us.”
    Olsen added that they will continue to use the under-hang from time to time to give away pizza and do things for students.
    “It was a really great marketing idea, but the biggest thing was giving back to the Milledgeville community,” Olsen said.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 22 2006. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry