The Cine Theater
The Cine Theater
The Cine Theater was Linton’s most grand theater when it opened in December 1938. It was owned and built by Lawrence and Hazel Scherer. The Scherer family, which was of German descent, moved to Linton from Jasper, Indiana, and also owned two other theaters: the Cher-Ritz and the Grand Theater. However, they spent most of their time at the Cine.
The Cine was located at 155 North Main Street. Theater patrons coming to watch a movie stood under a marquee composed of over four hundred light bulbs. Tickets were purchased at the ticket booth centered in between the front glass doors. When entering the theater, customers were treated to an air-conditioned lobby decorated in "art deco" style. The staircase leading to the mezzanine was carpeted with red tapestry.
The theater had an 850-seat capacity. The last row of seats was especially equipped with headphones for the hearing impaired, which was innovative for its time. The phones could be acquired at the box office for free.
The theater was named through a county-wide contest in which the best name won. A Jasonville man won the contest with his entry "The Cine," which is Spanish for "motion picture." The Cine opened in December 1938 with the movie "Valley of the Giants." The theater closed in 1982 with the movie "On Golden Pond."
Competition from the bigger cities forced the closure of the Cine. The movie companies said that only a limited number of prints were available for distribution. The local theaters were not able to get current movie releases until about six months after the premiere.
Originally, concessions were not sold inside the theater. A person would have to go next door to the Snack and Soda before or after the show. The Snack and Soda had a jukebox as well as sandwiches, ice cream, sodas, and popcorn. Later a snack counter was built in the lobby so that food was available inside the theater.
The theater also served as a community gathering place. In addition to movies, the Cine also had many live shows. The first annual Miss Linton Contest was held with Patty Wright winning the event. The stage was concrete with hardwood. It was equipped with floodlights, borderlights, and dimmers.
One of the most amazing stories about the theater was that of Roy Plew. Plew was the projectionist at the Cine for 44 years. He was the first and last person to thread film through the projector. Roy Plew was 13 years old when he started working at the Cine when it opened in 1938. Roy was the only one ever to operate those projectors.
Frank and Polly Miller bought the Cine in 1969 and ran it until its last showing in 1982. Frank, who is a photographer, had planned to re-open the theater in 1986 with a twin-theater complex but funding fell through when plans were announced to build Linton Cinema 3 at the shopping center that same year.
Frank and Polly Miller renamed the theater the Picture Show and later Frank Miller Photography. The new business includes restoration of old photographs and making custom frames and mats not only for photographs but also for cross-stitch, needlepoint, crewel embroidery, papercutting, watercolors, and oil paintings. The Millers have remodeled the top floor, converting it into an apartment where they lived.
The building was then donated to the city of Linton and later sold for commercial purposes.
This information was used with permission from the Linton-Stockton School Corporation.
Pictures can be found in our photogallery.
