Remember when some Bexley residents preferred X-rated movie theater to McDonald's?

In the 1990s, a story about a protracted legal battle in Bexley was picked up by media outlets worldwide. Even a couple of Jay Leno’s monologues poked fun at what was going on right here in Columbus.

In a nutshell, a building known for housing an adult movie theater and video store along Bexley’s main drag was set to be demolished and a McDonald’s built in its place. The twist Leno capitalized on was that many neighbors objected to the idea of a McDonald’s in their area, even more so than the existence of an X-rated business there for many years. Unhappy residents took the city to court over how it handled the fast-food project.

The building, at 2484 E. Main St., wasn’t always a place for adult movies. When the theater opened in 1935, it received more than a dozen congratulatory telegrams from “Hollywood luminaries” interested in its new dual projection method.

The pioneering system used mirrors to project a film simultaneously to two auditoriums. The theater also had a superior sound system, and its seats were 2 inches wider than any other seats in Columbus theaters, The Dispatch reported, with 2 inches more “knee room” as well.

In 1954, it opened as an “Art Film House,” with foreign films, and a newspaper ad described it as “a show place for discriminating movie goers.” However, in the 1970s, it began to show mostly adult films.

In 1987, members of the local Word of Life Ministries, considering pornography to be immoral, regularly picketed in front of the operation in a bid to put it out of business. The city kept tabs on the theater, which was law-abiding and was not inviting criminal activity, police said. Business there continued.

In the mid-1990s, the city made plans for the building to be sold to a developer and torn down. Some opponents wanted to preserve it for another use, and some voiced concern about the fast-food odors, noise and traffic safety.

After an almost-three-year legal battle ended in the developer’s favor, ground was broken for Big Macs to arrive in Bexley.

Not long after, the building — which was built to look like a higher-end restaurant rather than a typical McDonald's and lacked a drive-thru — became home to a Chipotle Mexican Grill, which has been there for more than 20 years.

Contributor Linda Deitch was a Dispatch librarian for 25 years.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Pornographic theater in Bexley torn down in 1997 for McDonald's