Overview

Exterior in 1931

The 1,400-seat Schine’s Holland Theatre opened in mid-February 1931 with Stolen Heaven (1931)  starring Nancy Carroll and Phillips Holmes, and a Laurel & Hardy short: The Chiselers (1931) .

A groundbreaking ceremony took place on Thursday 4th September 1930, conducted by the Bellefontaine Chamber of Commerce. The theatre was planned to cost $175,000 however costs were reported to be $300,000 at the time of completion.

The general contractor was Hossler Brothers of Tiffin, Ohio, and interior decoration was by Continental Studios, a Chicago-based decorating firm.

The auditorium was intended to give the viewer the sense of walking down the street of a Dutch village. Architect Peter Hulsken, from Arnhem in the Netherlands, drew the designs for the various building façades from his own knowledge and experience of actual buildings, including his birthplace.

Auditorium in 2019

The buildings with stepped roofs next to the windmills in the auditorium are replicas of the house in Arnhem that Hulsken grew up in. The buildings closest to the stage are inspired by buildings in Veere in the Netherlands. The exitways at main floor level are designed after a gate in Eukhuizen and are surmounted by windmills with motorized vanes that slowly tum. The other façades, which vary in design, are drawn from other cities.

The effect is further carried through by means of lighted windows in the “houses”, dimly-lit streetlamps on the building walls, and rows of tulips that are perennially in bloom. Lions in various regal poses provide appropriate security, as do ornamented “city walls” that extend up into the balcony, topped by parapets and copings and ornamental urns. Hulsken copyrighted the design in late 1930, and it is believed to be the only Atmospheric theatre to have been designed in a Dutch Village style.

The building exterior has a Flemish-style stepped-gable façade and uses Dutch cross bond brick. The lobby has a beamed ceiling, slate floors, and rough walls.

The Holland Theatre originally had the capability for both movies and stage plays but was eventually converted to a five screen multiplex, with the “main” screen remaining in the auditorium in front of the stage after it was sold in 1977. The theatre’s balcony was split in half and converted into two screens, and two additional screens were constructed on what had previously been the stage.

In 1998, the multiplex closed and a sixth grade class made the theatre its class project to raise awareness. Richard (Dick) Knowlton – a Bellefontaine businessman – bought the theatre, later donating it to the Logan County Landmark Preservation. As the preservation group worked to restore the building, various fine arts events continued to be hosted in the theatre.

In 2010, the theatre received a grant from the Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission; the theatre board installed a new lighting system with the grant money. Additional grant money was secured in 2015 and 2019. Renovations were completed in October 2019 with singer Judy Collins opening.