Mars Theatre

Last crawled date: 1 year, 7 months ago

Designed by Jim and Robert Tebeau, brothers in 1945, the Mars Theatre served as the Effingham County movie theatre until 1957. The Mars Theatre is a classic example of the one screen movie theatres that are significant to local communities across the nation. The Mars Theatre is a single screen movie theater that sat approximately 300 people on the main floor and in the balcony. It consists of a foyer that leads into the auditorium that consists of the original stage and balcony. The cream colored building is a masonry structure with stepped parapet roof and supports shown at intervals along the north and south walls. The front façade of the building has always been fairly simple with light elements of Art Moderne shown in the curved form of the marquee and the curved glass walls surrounding the entrance. Its simple form of foyer and auditorium as well as its basic decoration is comparable to theatres of the time across the United States. In 1974, the building was renovated as an office. The Mars Theatre is currently in a transitional state. The Springfield Revitalization Corporation is in the process of restoring the theatre in the process of returning to their former appearance with the intent to return the theater to a fully functioning venue for movies as well as live plays and events for the community. #TheatreSpringfieldEffingham