Athena Cinema announces 110th anniversary celebration with screening of ‘Cinema Paradiso’

The Athena Cinema is excited to announce that it will celebrate its 110th anniversary on June 3, 2025, with a public reception paired with a screening of “Cinema Paradiso.”

The event kicks off a celebratory year for the Athena wherein the historic theater will offer more free-to-the-public programming than ever, curate a variety of independent and blockbuster films, and host a number of community-oriented events to bring people together from across Southeast Ohio.

The Athena opened its doors in 1915, and has played film continuously over the years, making it among the oldest movie theaters in the nation. It opened under the name the Majestic in 1915 when a local family bought the building, which previously housed a grocery store, and renovated it into a movie theater.

On opening day, the first film shown was Mary Pickford’s “Cinderella” and the cost of admission was just 10 cents. It quickly became a community staple, offering burlesque and vaudeville stage shows as well as first-run films.

Though the owner of the theater changed numerous times throughout the 20th century and the theater itself has undergone several renovations, it has remained committed to showing high-quality first-run films and serving the local community.

The Athena Cinema is now owned by the Chaddock + Morrow College of Fine Arts at Ohio University, where it operates as a three-screen art house theater featuring independent, documentary, first-run, world, and classic films, as well as student and locally produced work.

In recent years, the Athena Cinema has undergone structural renovations, upgraded its projection and film-screening capabilities, upgraded its audio and sound production quality, and introduced a variety of beloved programming, allowing it to stay committed to showing a diverse catalog of classic films as well as new, independent, first-run movies. 

Celebrating 110 years of bringing people together

Giuseppe Tornatore’s 1988 classic film “Cinema Paradiso” was chosen as the film to kick off the anniversary celebration because it is all about the joys and pleasures of movie-going, moviemaking and projection. It’s a nostalgic, international film that shows how local theaters shape our lives, communities and connections.

Ultimately, the film is about how local theaters bring people together, and is emblematic of the Athena Cinema’s core goal as Southeast Ohio’s premier arthouse theater: to show high-quality films that bring our community together.

The Athena Cinema invites all of Southeast Ohio to this once-in-a-lifetime celebration on the evening of June 3. In honor of its first screening, and in celebration of the historic occasion, tickets for “Cinema Paradiso” will be available to the public for just 10 cents and will be preceded by a small reception.

The reception will begin at 6 p.m. on June 3, and will feature light refreshments, a toast to the historic event, and a chance for guests to share their most cherished memories of the Athena. The screening will begin at 7 p.m.

For more information about the event, please visit athenacinema.com. Come join the Athena Cinema as it honors 110 years as Southeast Ohio’s premier arthouse theater.

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