North Ridgeville
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Current Name of Theater: Olde Towne Hall Theater
Current Type: Theater and Historical Society
Seats: 298
Web site: http://oldetownehall.wixsite.com/oldetownehalltheatre
http://www.northridgevillehistoricalsociety.org/
Historic Names of Theater: North Ridgeville Town Hall
Address: 36119 Center Ridge Road, North Ridgeville, Ohio, 44039
Year Built: 1882
Original Architect: Elah Terrell (a Ridgeville native) and a Mr. Morris
Original Cost: $12,000
Listed on National Register http://nr.ohpo.org/
History of Theater:
The township’s first permanent Town Hall was a frame structure erected in about 1850 on the present site of the Old Town Hall, on land leased from Levi W. Terrell, who lived in the house just west of the site.
By March of 1882, the citizens of the township decided to vote at the April election upon the question whether to build a new, larger town hall. The measure passed by a three-to-one margin, and bids were received, with Elah Terrell (a Ridgeville native) and a Mr. Morris receiving the contract. By November, 1882, the foundation was completed, with the brick and interior work being finished in 1883. The total cost of the structure, furnishings, and other incidentals was estimated at $12,000. Dedication ceremonies were held on Thursday, December 20, 1883. These featured band music, speeches, and a large dinner. The new building was a two-story brick structure 42 feet wide and 64 feet long. The foundation, trim, and curved window arches were cut from Amherst sandstone. The eaves, braces, and wood trim were painted white. The roof was of slate; the bell tower was covered with sheets of copper, and there were two large brick chimneys toward the back of the building. The lower story was designed for holding elections and general township business. The second story was for public meetings, lectures, concerts, etc. being furnished with a stage on the south end, five chandeliers, and ‘298 fine opera chairs’ on a sloping floor rising back
from the stage. Many community events took place at the new hall. Family reunions were held in the building or on the grounds; for example, the annual reunion and picnic of the Terrell & Beebe families (Ridgeville’s original 1810 pioneers). Lectures, performances by traveling opera companies, church dinners and programs, festivals, patriotic observances, plays, minstrel shows, Grange meetings, ice cream socials, spelling bees, graduations, and the eighth-grade Boxwell examinations were just some of the activities held at Ridgeville’s Town Hall during its first 50 years
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