On December 20, 1928, just a few days before Christmas, the sidewalks of the Newark, Ohio Town Square were filled with shoppers in search of last-minute gifts. Amidst all the hustle and bustle, on North Park Place there was a line of people – hundreds of them – people standing in place for hours, or, according to an account in the local paper, paying young boys to stand there for them. They braved the elements so that they could be the first to get a glimpse of Newark’s newest entertainment establishment. Over the next 5 decades The Midland Theatre had great success presenting a wide variety of entertainment including: films, musical acts, plays, dance, cooking classes and more! In 1978, The Midland Theatre, showing increasing decay and decreasing attendance, closed. A power outage during the "Blizzard of '78" caused the boilers to freeze and crack, sealing the theatre's fate. Then, in 1992, Dave Longaberger and The Longaberger Company purchased The Midland. As a tribute to Dave's vision, The company undertook an 8-year, $8.5 million renovation and restoration of The Midland. Longaberger had no desire to operate the theatre, instead entrusting the property to The Newark Midland Theatre Association, a local volunteer, non-profit organization. The Midland has been restored, not to its original glory, but well beyond. The opulent detail of the original structure has been maintained, but all of the technical equipment of the theatre is state of the art. A Dolby Surround Sound projection system brings movies to a real big screen with real big sound. The sound system for music and stage presentations is also the latest technology. The Midland offers programming for every age level, every musical taste, drama and comedy, film and live presentations. We want The Midland to be home to community events. More recent performers include: Peter Frampton, Lindsay Buckingham, B.B. King, Bill Cosby, Blue Oyster Cult, Phillip Phillips, Vince Gill, The Band Perry and more!