Restoring a piece of history: How Springfield saved the Mars Theater

From her office window in downtown Springfield, Gussie Nease would gaze at the Mars Theater and lament over what it had become. As a kid, she watched "Love Me Tender" starring Elvis Presley and wanted to create more memories of moviegoing with friends and family.

But her dream of doing so was in jeopardy.

“I kept thinking someone needs to restore that thing back to a theater,” said Nease. “I just had this passion for it and knowing that it needed to be restored. I did not want to see it destroyed. I always wanted to restore it.”

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Built in the 40s, the Mars Theater was a popular hangout spot for movie lovers. But it quickly lost its popularity nearly a decade later as TV sales were on the rise. “When the television really became popular, especially in rural Georgia, people found less of a need or a desire to go out to the movies at the rate that they were when the theater first came to the community,” said Regina Clontz, director of the Mars Theater.

From there, it went on to be a florist, bank and office space for various businesses among other things. Decades later, Nease learned from a friend that a family was considering reconstructing the building, part of which involved leveling the floor. If done, Nease feared the theater would be gone for good.

“We talked about it and we said that would destroy it because once you level the floor, you won’t be able to put it back,” said Nease.

A friend of hers leased the building for a year, buying time for Nease to get her ducks in order. With her coin jar in tow, Nease went about town hoping to raise funds to save the theater. “I went to every festival, everything and everywhere else and begged for money,” she said.

The sound of her coin jar grew louder as residents dropped in their nickels and quarters. The loose change grew but not enough to move forward with renovations.

But then, a miracle happened.

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The Springfield Revitalization Corporation bought the theater in the late 90s with the intent to renovate it. Those who grew up in the community were ecstatic, but then came another roadblock. The project stalled until a deal was struck in 2009 where they city owned the building and leased it back to the SRC, which gave them time to secure the funds needed for the renovation.

“Butch and I kind of talked them into getting on board with restoring the theater,” said Nease.

“We sold hot dogs, popcorn and we showed movies on the side of it and had people sitting in the chairs in the parking lot. We had a huge yard sale where the whole community gave us stuff to sell. When you borrow $100,000 to buy a building, the interest rate on it alone is a lot of money. We got to a point where we could make the yearly payment on the interest. But that's as far as we were getting. That's when Springfield stepped in and bought it. They are the true heroes in all of this.”

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The city of Springfield began collaborating with the SRC on ways to incentivize folks to enjoy nightlife in the town. Renovating the Mars Theater helped jumpstart their efforts.

“It seemed like such a great thing to do for the community so we got involved,” said resident Rick Lott. “It has been amazing. I have to give a huge thanks to the city of Springfield to have the wherewithal to finish the project. It’s remarkable. People come in now from Savannah and elsewhere to enjoy movies and live presentations.”

Now, the Mars Theater is thriving. It has caught the attention of up-and-coming comedian Mike Goodwin and brings in live acts like the That Motown Band. The theater is one that has brought generations together for decades.

Today, it stands as an iconic piece of history in the county.

Latrice Williams is a general assignment reporter covering Bryan and Effingham County. She can be reached at lwilliams6@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: How Springfield GA residents, government worked to save Mars Theater