MURPHY THEATRE COMMUNITY CENTER INC
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Mission Statement
The Historic Murphy Theatre was built in 1918 by Charles Webb Murphy. Mr. Murphy is the only owner of the Chicago Cubs to have won a World Series AND he did it twice 1907 and 1908! He returned to his home town of Wilmington, Ohio to built not just a theater, but a grand architectural landmark that has remained open since July 24, 1918! The theatre could not only play silent movies, but was also a venue for Vaudeville, concerts, lectures, plays. It is one of a few true Hemp Houses...all screens still are raised and lowered by hand. 200 rail cars brought in the bricks to build the theatre. Craftsmen from Italy were brought in to do the plaster and painting and England to do the wood work. The local librarian was asked to provide quotes that decorate the outside of the box seats. The acoustics are so incredible that one can stand on the apron facing left or right and be heard clearly all the way to the back of the balcony. The house seats 769!
About This Cause
As times changed and how people watched movies changed, the descendants of Charlie Murphy decided to sell the theatre. The managers of the theatre were getting ready to open a multiplex on the northern edge of Wilmington. The community, spearheaded by the local college and bank presidents, developed a strategy to buy the theatre. It was incorporated as a non profit organization in 1989. Each year, the theatre has gotten stronger and better. 2008 was a very difficult year as an employer that employed 8,000 people pulled out in the middle of the night, leaving Wilmington devastated...Wilmington has a populations over 12,000. Houses foreclosed, businesses closed, unemployment was 17%! A town once listed as a top 100 small town, now was devastated. However, through this all, The Murphy Theatre has remained open. Although the number of shows offered declined for a few year, The Murphy Theatre currently boasts more shows and a greater variety of shows than ever before. Our calendar includes national recording artists, tribute bands, high school concerts and plays, documentary film festivals, lecturers, weddings, business meetings. We have shows as varied as The US Army Field Band Jazz Ambassadors, The Annual Rocky Horror Picture Show Event, Veterans' Show, Merry Tuba Christmas and the annual favorite Murphy Christmas Show, a Broadway style variety show and our annual fundraiser, Dancing with the Stars. During the summer we offer Arts Workshops for children. Artist Studios are rented in the space above the theatre.