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The Rich History of The Regent Theatre

     The Regent Theatre opened in 1919 in what was formerly a late 19th-century horse livery. It originally not only showed movies, but presented vaudeville acts on its stage. In the 1930s, the Regent received an Art Deco facelift, including a cream-colored vitreous marble facade with red and green highlights. The six second-story windows have been closed up and covered with vitrolite with abstract decoration on them. The late Streamline era marquee, with its only decoration being a large white star, is lit with neon and light bulbs.
     After decades entertaining the people of Allegan, the Regent closed in the early 1980s. It was threatened with demolition by 1990. The non-profit Old Regent Theatre purchased the theater the same year and restored it to its 1930s glory in 1996. In 1997, during a violent rainstorm, the roof collapsed causing massive damage just an hour after the last movie of the night let out. Since then, the Old Regent has been painstakingly rebuilt and restored once again, including recreating historic panels in the auditorium and the original 1930s carpeting. The building was rewired electrically, and new curtains were hung.
     The original 20x30 foot screen was salvaged, but needed to be repaired. It is now one of the largest screens remaining in Michigan.
     "South Pacific" was screened at the Old Regent's second grand-reopening in 1999. Along with first run films, the theater also shows classic films and has a children's matinee on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
     On September 13, 2007, the fully restored marquee was completed and Trowbridge St. now glows under the colorful neon of the beautifully restored Art Deco masterpiece.

The Regent Welcomes Parker Johnson as the new Operational Coordinator

During the busy summer months, the winds of change blew through the rows of seats at the Old Regent as it welcomed a new Operational Coordinator. Below is his excerpt that originally ran on the Positively Allegan website in early June:


Transitioning to the Operational Coordinator of the Old Regent Theatre is like taking the reigns of a racing chariot, or the controls of the Millennium Falcon – it ain’t easy. When I started working at the Regent in May of 2014, I never dreamed I would be in this position just a short year later.

Having grown up in Allegan, The Regent Theatre has always been a big part of my life. My middle school summers were spent attending every free matinee with as many friends as I could gather up (do you remember the dozen 8th grade boys at Kit Kittredge: An American Girl? I apologize.) and some of my favorite movies from the past decade were watched for the first time at the Regent.

Obviously, my obsessive watching of movies had a great impact on me when I began to look to my future of schooling. After graduating from Allegan High School in 2013, I started my first year at Compass College of Cinematic Arts in Grand Rapids that fall. There, I studied a multitude of different aspects of the film industry from a variety of teachers and mentors who knew their craft. It wasn’t long before I discovered that what I really wanted to do in this industry was become a screenwriter. Since I started at Compass, I’ve been the screenwriter of three short films that made it to screen, the head writer of a sitcom pilot, as well as the current writer of a feature length screenplay outside of school.

When the position for operational coordinator of the Regent opened up, it was not an immediate decision to apply for it. I spent weeks wrestling with the idea and spoke with a few people who were a great help to me in that process and will continue to be in the coming months. For that, I am forever thankful. Ultimately, I decided that my love and passion for the Regent itself and the film industry as a whole would make this job worthwhile, fulfilling, and a whole lot of fun. And that’s what going to the movies is all about – it’s a chance to be transported to a different world that filmmakers created in order for you, the audience, to have a fun and magical experience.

As I take the reigns of the Old Regent, expect new and exciting things to pop up, and know that the familiar and beloved things will be cherished. I look forward to being a part of the community of Allegan. Like Humphrey Bogart said, “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

Parker Johnson
Operational Coordinator of the Old Regent Theatre