From classical music to modern dance, yearly family traditions to hot concerts, the world’s best artists come to the 2,791-seat, historic Ohio Theatre. The breathtaking details (including the 21-foot-high chandelier!) of its opulent, Spanish-Baroque architecture make any night at the Ohio an event to remember!
The Ohio Theatre is located at 39 E. State Street, between 3rd and High Streets, across the street from the Ohio Statehouse.
NEW! As of February 2023, we now offer free booster seats for our youngest patrons at the Ohio Theatre. Booster seats are first come, first served, and our inventory is very limited. To receive a booster seat, please ask for a house manager upon your arrival to the Ohio Theatre.
With more than 100 performances each year, the Ohio Theatre is one of the state’s busiest performing arts facilities. It's lush interior, outstanding acoustics, and state-of-the-art stage facilities have made it a favorite of leading CAPA-presented performers such as Carole King, Julie Andrews, Yo-Yo Ma, Yanni, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Kenny G, Canadian Brass, Liza Minnelli, John Denver, the Boston Pops, Garrison Keillor, Lyle Lovett, Itzhak Perlman, and Dan Fogelberg.
When Scottish-born architect, Thomas W. Lamb designed the Ohio Theatre, he envisioned “a palace for the average man.” It opened in 1928 as a Loew's movie house, complete with its own orchestra and theatre organ. In addition to movies, live performance shows touring the Loews circuit found a home on the Ohio stage. During the heyday of vaudeville, many top performers played the Ohio, including Milton Berle, Ray Bolger, Cab Calloway, Buddy Ebsen, Martha Raye, Jean Harlow, Ginger Rogers, Kate Smith, and a young emcee with a violin named Jack Benny.
To decorate and furnish the Ohio, Loew's chose Anne Dornan, one of the first women to graduate from the Columbia School of Architecture. Dornan traveled around the world to select art and furnishings, even going on a safari to find appropriate decorations for the "Africa Corner" in the lower lounge of the Ohio. Approximately $1 million was spent on art and furnishings - more than the cost of the building itself!
Save the Ohio!
The Ohio Theatre thrived as a movie house until the suburban sprawl of the 1960s drew traffic out of downtown. Like many other grand theatres of the past, the Ohio was headed for demolition. In 1969, the citizens of central Ohio mounted a “Save the Ohio” campaign, raising more than $2 million in less than a year in an unprecedented effort. The newly formed Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA) subsequently purchased and renovated the Ohio Theatre, creating a home for Columbus' performing arts organizations that is today recognized as the Official Theatre for the State of Ohio.
Ohio’s Theatre
Today, the Ohio Theatre is home to the Columbus Symphony, BalletMet, and Broadway in Columbus, and also hosts CAPA-presented performances, as well as a wide variety of touring artists and shows each year. Our audiences experience world-class performing arts of all genres from every corner of the world right in their own backyards!
