The Ohio Theatre stands on Capitol Square on the site of the old Columbus City Hall. Thomas W. Lamb, a famous theater architect, designed it, and he called it one of his most successful. Inside, it was built to feel like a luxurious fantasy world, with rooms decorated in different themes.
It opened on March 17, 1928 as Loew's Ohio, a Spanish Baroque movie palace seating more than 3,000. The first film was The Divine Woman, a silent movie. The theater had its own orchestra and a Robert Morton organ that is still in use today.
Movie attendance fell in the 1950s and 1960s, and the theater was nearly demolished. A group formed in 1969 to save it, and it was later completely restored. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1977, and it is known as the Official Theatre of the State of Ohio.