(21)
In the depths of the Great Depression, local farmer and cattleman Dave Bisagno and his wife Aline built a spectacular movie palace in downtown Augusta. No expense was spared; the building cost $70,000 — roughly $1,250,000 in today's money. Designed by architect L.P. Larson, the Augusta Historic Theatre was among the first in the nation to feature neon illumination throughout the building. Art Deco and Egyptian motifs dominate the decor, with abundant handmade plaster mouldings in black, silver, salmon, burgundy and seafoam, and a dazzling hand-painted ceiling covering the entirety of the 633-seat auditorium. Large murals flank the seating area, creating the feeling of a lush classical terrace with fountains and greenery. In addition to the movie screen there is a stage, suitable for live musical and theatrical performances. For fifty years, until closing the doors in November 1985, the Bisagno family operated the Augusta Theatre as a first-run movie house. With fewer than one in four movie theaters built in America prior to World War II still in existence today, there was a very real chance the Augusta Theatre could have been lost to history. In September 1989 the Augusta Arts Council purchased the theater and began the task of restoring this precious community treasure and putting it back into regular use — a painstaking process that has required sustained effort, hard work and substantial financial support from the public. The theater was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, and in 2003 local donors pledged toward its restoration nearly $150,000, which was matched by a grant from the "Save America's Treasures" program. In 2011 a fundraising effort helped equip the theater with fully updated digital projection and sound equipment — essential to its continued operation in the modern age. Today the Augusta Histroic Theatre shows a mix of first-run and revival films, and its low ticket and concession prices ensure its place in the community as an affordable family entertainment destination. Our new classic film program and regularly-scheduled live music events are coming in 2019!
Operating as usual
It's popcorn night! Get your fresh popcorn for family night in or pre-game snack. We can bring it straight to your car!! https://www.augustaartscouncilks.org/online-store
Get your fresh popcorn tonight from 5:00 - 7:30! Pre-orders or walk-ups available. Thank you for your support ❤
https://www.augustaartscouncilks.org/online-store
Timeline Photos
Popcorn Friday will return in two weeks! See you Sept 11th!
We didn't catch Patti inside popping popcorn but we did catch her having some fun on her break! We are so thankful for her and all of our amazing volunteers who work tirelessly to make our theatre the best ❤️❤️
Join us this Friday from 5:30 - 7:30 for another curbside popcorn fundraiser! We appreciate your continued support.
Are you ready for more popcorn! We will be ready for you :) Walk-up, drive-up or pre-orders (https://www.augustaartscouncilks.org/online-store) See you Friday 8/21 5:30-7:30
We had such a great out-pouring of support we are going to offer popcorn again this Friday! We appreciated every one of you for coming out or pre-ordering popcorn. There were even several who "payed it forward"! What an amazing community we live in! Thank you to all of those who stuck with it and waited for popcorn, we have plans in place so that we won't have the delay's like we did last week. Thank you for supporting your local hometown movie theatre and arts council 🥰🥰🥰
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! We have had so many orders tonight. We apologize for some of you that had a much longer wait than we anticipated. Next weekend we will be much faster!
We are looking forward to your support this Friday! Pre-orders available at https://www.augustaartscouncilks.org/online-store.
Yummy, yummy get in my tummy! This Friday night we will have popcorn available to order for curbside pickup!
Oops! I was trying to get a pic of the sign guy and forgot to get a good one of the sign 🙈 Happy 4th of July everyone!
We are thankful to take a tiny part in the Kansas Wounded Vet Run event for their 2020 Honoree - Augusta's own Vietnam Veteran SPC Jerry Partridge. Thank you, Mr. Partridge, and all veterans for your service. They begin their run this morning at 9:30.
Oh blue theatre lights, we have missed you! Thank you to our volunteer Jim Davis and board member Janet Davis for getting them going again ☺️ These two have been busy these last few months. Any guesses what they have been up to?
We are so ready to see you! We are still working on some special projects and aren't quite ready to open yet...but SOON my friends...we will see you soon!
Congratulations Class of 2020!
Congratulations to the Augusta High School Class of 2020 as they graduate this weekend in the most unusual of circumstances. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors!! #classof2020
Timeline Photos
We are so sad about this and can't wait to open our doors again soon!
Should we open next week, provided we separate seating and limit to 50 people?
Our beautiful auditorium, with 600+ seats, murals, handpainted ceiling tiles and gorgeous Deco/Egyptian mouldings.
In order to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus (Coronavirus) we will be closed this weekend March 20-21.
Augusta Historic Theatre's cover photo
EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: AUGUSTA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY CANCELS THE BUGS BUNNY CLUB
Considering recommendations from the CDC and State Health Officials to refrain from having events with large gatherings, the Augusta Department of Public Safety will be cancelling the remaining three meetings of the Bugs Bunny Club for this year and will resume in March of 2021. The department understands this is a fun, family friendly event, but considering the national situation, the department and city officials feel it is in the best interest of the community to follow the recommendations of health officials.
Augusta Historic Theatre's cover photo
It's just a few weeks away! Can you guess which weekend we will be doing FIRE safety? Correct answers, along liking our page and a share of this post, will go in a drawing for a free poster! Don't forget to comment on the original post!
This week's movie (2/28-29), Bad Boys for Life, is rated "R". This means anyone under the age of 17 must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian. We know there are several students that regularly attend movies at the theatre and, while we don't want anyone to miss out, everyone should be aware that unaccompanied minors will not be allowed into the theatre for this movie. ID's will be checked.
Thank you Community National Bank & Trust for your support. We appreciate you ❤️❤️❤️
Community National Bank & Trust is proud to help support our Augusta Historic Theatre! Pictured her is CNB&T - Augusta President Eric Grooms presenting a check to Bill Morris Sr and Bill Morris Jr of the Augusta Arts Council.
The little things that make me smile... seeing our theatre showtimes pop up on Google! I'm working on making it do this all the time 😁
Due to computer issues yesterday I couldn't get our poster post to post! So, we are doing Free Poster Thursday! Tell us your favorite Bugs Bunny Club memory (or how excited you are to go for the first time!), then share the post. Make sure you have like our page so you can see future events and giveaways! Drawing will be Friday afternoon.
The Augusta Historical Society and Museum has a trivia post on their page! Be sure to go to their page to post your answer on the original post to be qualified to win two tickets to the Augusta Historic Theatre, courtesy of Augusta Rental Inc!
It's Trivia Time! Like this post, tag the person you would take with you, if you win, and answer the question. The answer can be found within the stories on our FB page. **You must answer on this post to qualify.*** A name will be drawn from all correct answers and the winner announced after 6p on Wednesday, Feb. 19th, 2020.
The winner will receive two tickets to the Augusta Historic Theatre, courtesy of Augusta Rental Inc!
Opening tonight in Augusta!
Timeline Photos
We want your thoughts! What do you want to see in 2020?
Edited to add: Let's dig a little deeper! Tell us which movie genres, movie titles (both old and new), or even event suggestions you might have?
523 State Street
Augusta, KS
67010
| Friday | 19:00 - 23:00 |
| Saturday | 19:00 - 23:00 |
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Augusta Historic Theatre posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Send a message to Augusta Historic Theatre:
The Wicked Witch got busted! Thank you Officer Strobbe for keeping Augusta safe. #PlayLocal #HistoricGoodTime
Stay Puft Marshmallow Man
Hill Valley for the day in honor of Back to the Future. Thank you Mr. Mayor Mike Rawlings for your proclamation!
Back to the Future TRILOGY
Classic Film Series: Purple Rain!
The folks at KCTU TV 5 were kind enough to give us a spot on "Your Hour" on Friday, November 30, to discuss the Augusta Historic Theatre and our neon repair fundraiser, hosted at tinyurl.com/augustaneon
