Majestic Theatre

The Majestic Theatre in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, opened on 14 November 1925. Built by Henry Scharf as an addition to the Gettysburg Hotel, it originally presented vaudeville and silent films. During the 1950s, President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Mamie Eisenhower attended films there. Gettysburg College acquired the building in 1988 and launched a major restoration in 2004. The theatre now combines live performance with film exhibition. Gettysburg is visited for one reason above all others, and its theatre works in the shadow of that fact: the Majestic is the town's principal auditorium, restored to service after the long decline that emptied so many American downtown houses, and now carrying films, concerts and touring stage work for a place whose visitor numbers far exceed its residents. Verdi's Aida has been given there.