Warner Theatre

Warner Theatre or Warner Theater may refer to several venues.

Powers Auditorium

Powers Auditorium, in Youngstown, Ohio is one of the largest auditoriums in the Youngstown-Warren area. The facility is the main venue of downtown Youngstown's DeYor Performing Arts Center. The complex also includes the Adler Art Academy, Beecher Flad Pavilion, and Ford Family Recital Hall. Originally built in 1931 as the Warner Theatre, the former movie palace was renovated and reopened as Powers Auditorium in 1969.

The main tenant of Powers Auditorium is the Youngstown Symphony, which performs from October through May. The facility also hosts other musical acts, touring Broadway productions, and locally produced theater (primarily from Ballet Western Reserve and Easy Street Productions, two Youngstown-based theater companies).

History

Designed by the prominent theater architects Rapp and Rapp, Powers opened as the Warner Theatre on May 14, 1931, part of the massive chain of theaters operated by the Warner Brothers film company. The structure was built as a memorial to the late Sam Warner, who along with his brothers, resided in Youngstown before embarking on a career in film production. The Warner Theatre operated until 1968, when it was scheduled to be demolished to make way for a parking lot. A public outcry prompted the Edward W. Powers family to donate $250,000 to preserve the structure. The theater was preserved and renovated in 1969. Many items in the theater were auctioned off, and the auditorium underwent extensive acoustical renovation in order to make it a suitable concert hall. In September of that year, the building was re-christened as Powers Auditorium with a performance by the Youngstown Symphony.

Warner Theater (West Chester, Pennsylvania)

Warner Theater, also known as The High Street Theater, was a historic movie theater located in West Chester, Chester County, Pennsylvania. It was designed by the noted Chicago theater design firm of Rapp and Rapp and built by Warner Brothers. It opened on November 14, 1930. It is a composite of one-, two-, and three-story buildings in the Art Deco style. It includes the theater, restaurant, and a series of seven small stores. The theater has a two-story foyer with a three-story tower that formerly supported the marquee. The auditorium measured 83 feet by 120 feet, and originally sat 1,650, 1,300 on the floor and 350 in the balcony. The auditorium was demolished in late-1986, and the remainder of the building has been renovated as the Hotel Warner.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It is located in the West Chester Downtown Historic District.

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