FAIRBORN, Ohio — After decades in the dark, Fairborn’s historic theater saw its seats full, heard its speakers echo through the auditorium and felt the excitement of a local premiere.
Jordan Terrell and Chris Morse said they’ll never forget that night, October 2019, when Terrell’s documentary, “HEROINOHIO,” brought crowds back to the small theater on the north side of Fairborn. Now, a year and a half later, the deed to the historic space is in their hands and so is its future as the Fairborn Phoenix.
Morse and Terrell both grew up in Fairborn, seeing some of their first movies at the theater before it closed when they were kids.
By the time they were teenagers, Terrell said they were starting to see the town decline.
“Growing up in Fairborn, there wasn’t much to do outside of potentially get in trouble and drive around and really get out of Fairborn,” he said.
As he worked on his documentary though, Terrell was exploring another side of that trend. There were people and communities committed to rebuilding. When it came time to premiere his film, Terrell said the previously abandoned Fairborn Theater seemed like the perfect spot.
“I thought they [the city government] would immediately say no,” he said.
Instead, Fairborn’s developmental committee approved his plans as long as Terrell could bring the building up to code. Morse joined in on the efforts and the two got to work.
“It was a disaster. The entire Roush’s Restaurant which is an old restaurant on Main Street in Fairborn closed down,” Morse said.
As a result, the auditorium was full of storage from the former business.
“We took out probably four dumpsters worth of stuff if you can believe it in here,” he said.
On top of that, none of the lights worked, there were holes in the floor, the seats needed to be replaced but Morse said the bones of the theater were solid.
“About halfway through, it started to all come together,” he said. “And I actually got a hold of the Fairborn developmental committee and said, 'Hey, what would it take for us to take this over and be able to do events like this in the future without all of the red tape?’”
Morse learned he and Terrell would have to take over the building, get insurance, come up with a five-year and 10-year plan and commit to $3-5 million in improvements and renovations.
The team formed a nonprofit, the Fairborn Phoenix, and the group officially got the deed for the building in early August.
“This was a huge deal,” Morse said.
From there, Morse said the Fairborn Phoenix was able to get insurance, opening the door to hosting events as early as the fall.
Morse and Terrell said they’re hoping to get a liquor license, create a reception space and do another major cleanup of the space, beforehand, but they anticipate soon, things will look even better than they did the night of Terrell’s premiere.
“It’s still a beautiful place it just needed hard work,” Terrell said.
He and Morse expect upcoming events to serve as a major fundraising driver for the theater. On this next phase of their efforts, Morse said they’re hoping to earn the funds to finish the theater’s renovations.
He said much of the work so far has come from volunteers.
“These were all just personal donations, just people coming out and giving us their time and money and materials to help keep this thing going,” Morse said.
Over the next 10 years, the Fairborn Phoenix hopes to raise up to $5 million to cover not only the theater’s renovations but also to build classrooms and start community programs in the building.
Neither Morse nor Terrell has a background in construction or renovation, but Morse has a business background, Terrell has a background in cinema and they both know Fairborn. For the rest, they said they’ve found the right architects, electricians and designers to bring their vision to life.
“We’re relying heavily on the experts that we’ve brought in to take us home,” Morse said.
Terrell and Morse are still brainstorming the first few events for the Fairborn Phoenix, but the pair have high hopes for its future. When the place reopened for HEROINOHIO, Terrell said tickets sold out faster than he ever imagined.
People were excited to see their hometown theater light up again. He hopes that energy continues as the Fairborn Phoenix takes its next steps.
“I remember being in Fairborn and driving an hour to see rock concerts and stuff like that. Why can’t it be the opposite? Why can’t people in Cincinnati want to come up to Fairborn to see what’s going on at the Fairborn theater?”