It’s my absolute favorite place to catch a movie. The Athena Cinema shows great films, is never crowded and tickets are a fair price.
It started life as the Majestic Theater after the building was converted from a grocery store to a movie house in 1915.
Tickets were a dime apiece at the time.
After changing ownership more than a few times over the years, it’s now owned and operated by Ohio University and is staffed by student workers who are funded by Federal Work Study.
They always show the movies and documentaries you can’t see anywhere else in southern Ohio. You would have to go to Columbus if it weren’t for the Athena. Since I tend to go for matinees, it’s usually a sparse crowd and I never have to sit near anyone else.
An introvert’s paradise.
They’re not showing movies now but offering some events and films online. You can currently register to watch the documentary John Lewis: Good Trouble for free.
Oh, how I miss it there! Someday, hopefully soon, I’m going to spend a Saturday watching movies there. Two or three of them, just because I can!
Watching movies at home is ok but it’s just not the same as settling into a theater with a snack.
Going to the movies is an event.
When the Mr Rogers documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? played, I found myself in a theater with about twenty other strangers who sang along, laughed and even cried together.
That’s not an experience you’ll have on your couch.
Their concessions aren’t a bad price and the tickets are affordable. Matinees are $5 and regular tickets are $6.50. They occasionally do free events including kids’ movies in the summer.
Learn all about The Athena Cinema at their website.
Make the Journey Fun 