The Historic Garden Theater

In 1920, the Garden Theater opened as the premier entertainment showcase north of downtown Columbus on High Street. Originally a vaudeville and movie emporium, the Garden anchored the neighborhood just south of Fifth Avenue.

In the 1960s, following the death of its longtime owner, Ethel Miles, the Garden declined into a striptease house featuring the last of the burlesque-style strippers. By the late 80s, the Garden had become a notorious home for pornographic movies, pole dancers and prostitutes. A local church took up residence in 1996, but moved to a new location in 2007 when real estate investors purchased the building. The Garden sat dormant until 2011.

Enter Short North Stage.

Restorations began, bringing back one of central Ohio’s premier entertainment venues and the grand dame of the Short North Arts District. Short North Stage produced its first show in October 2011 and has been thriving ever since.

The Garden lives on.