Holland Theatre

The Holland Theatre is located in Bellefontaine, Ohio, on East Columbus Avenue near Main Street. What makes this theatre so unique is that it is the only Dutch-style theatre in the United States. Besides showing theatrical productions, the theatre was also used as a movie theatre. Similar to other historic theaters across the country, the Holland ultimately went out of business after technological advancements and the cinema experience changed with these new advances. The theatre closed in 1998 and it ended up being bought and then donated to the Logan County Landmark Preservation. The building was renovated, listed in the National Register of Historic places, and continues to be an important arts center for the community as well as a historic landmark.   

The construction of the Holland Theater started on September 4, 1930, in downtown Bellefontaine, Ohio. The theatre was commissioned by the Schine brothers, who had been in the theatre business for the previous 15 years. Costs to build the theatre were estimated at $150,000. Today, the cost would be about $2,504,209.58.(1) The construction company in charge of building the theatre was the Hossler Brothers from Tiffin, Ohio, under the direction of Peter H. Hulsken, an architect living in Lima, Ohio. However, Hulsken was originally from the Netherlands. 

Mr. Hulsken was born in Arnhem, Netherlands on Sept. 21, 1881. He attended the Royal Academy in Amsterdam and graduated from the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, France. When he was 24 years of age, he came to the U.S. and worked in Detroit, Michigan for a short time, but then moved to Lima, Ohio. Ten years later, he became a U.S. citizen in 1915.(2) Mr. Hulsken designed a variety of buildings during his lifetime, including Elk lodges, telephone buildings, high schools, court houses, and theatres. However, the Holland Theatre is truly a unique building among Mr. Hulsken’s other projects.

The Holland Theatre is the only Dutch style designed theatre in the United States. The particular style of the theatre is an “atmospheric theatre.” Atmospheric theatres were popular in the 1910s and 1920s, and were “. . . designed to evoke the sense of being transported to a far-off exotic outdoor location. Far-away places were considered exotic and so in America that often meant European cities, places which most Americans would never have the chance to visit.” (3) Being a Netherland native, Mr. Hulsken decided to design the theatre with Dutch-inspired architecture and fashioned the inside of the theatre to look like a Dutch village. The village even includes moving windmills. Dutch stylistic details include Dutch bond cross brick, beamed ceilings, slate floors, paneled wainscoting walls, and coats of arms from different Holland cities. The design was patented by Hulsken, which helped cement its place as a one-of-a-kind theatre. (4)

The Holland Theatre presented movies and other shows/ performances throughout its early life, but changed hands a number of times over the years. It changed hands in 1966, 1968, 1976, 1987, 1988, 1994, and finally closed in 1998.(5) From there, the Holland Theatre started a new journey. A journey of restoration. A group of concerned citizens, who called the group “Save the Holland,” organized in November 1998 to save the building. The momentum for this project was pushed by the creation of the “Save the Holland Theatre” project by the Bellefontaine Middle School’s Enrichment Class. Another group formed to save the theatre was the non-profit group “Logan County Landmark Preservation Inc.” who also pushed for saving and restoring the theatre. A local businessman purchased the theatre in 1999 and donated it to Logan County Landmark Preservation. The theatre was mostly intact but needed work done on the roof and major cleaning to the inside of the building. To further help mark the importance of the theatre, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 25, 2001. Continuing into the 21st century, the community continued to support the ongoing renovations. They helped raise $800,000 and received a matching grant from Jeffris Family Foundation based in Wisconsin, financial assistance from Honda, as well as from the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit program from 2015 to 2019.(6) Various organizations chipped in to help and many volunteers put in hours to restore the building. EverGreene, an architectural company, restored both the auditorium and outer lobby. The Holland Theater continues to be a much loved icon in Bellefontaine and is a performance center for bands, musicals, and partners with local art organizations. 

(1) CPI Inflation Calculator. Value of $150,000 from 1930 to 2022. Accessed January 20th 2022. https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1930?amount=150000.

(2) "The Birth and Design of Your Holland Theatre." Bellefontaine Examiner February 10th 2011.

(3) Hume, Mike . Atmospheric Theatres, Historic Theatre Photography. Accessed January 20th 2022. https://historictheatrephotos.com/Research/Atmospherics/.

(4) BELLEFONTAINE – HOLLAND THEATRE Historic Theaters, CASE Studies , Heritage Ohio. August 20th 2017. Accessed December 9th 2021. https://www.heritageohio.org/2017/08/28/bellefontaine-holland-theatre/ .

(5) "80 Years ." Bellefontaine Examiner August 10th 2011.

(6) Biviano, Dennis . Beloved Holland Theatre Starts a New Chapter, Bay News 9. October 11th 2019. Accessed December 13th 2021. https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2019/10/11/beloved-holland-theatre-starts-a-new-chapter?cid=share_fb&fbclid=IwAR19RGH5WfcaFc4p55cHM0aMIdDhdJRxLNdbyeG8rBsc0k_B2ZlYCyITNCI.