On April 5, 1920, Adriano Marozzi and Cesira Marozzi, his wife, conveyed to A. J. McColly Lot No. 18 in the Borough of Ligonier, fronting 60 feet on Main Street and extending back 180 feet to an alley, and having thereon erected two frame dwelling houses [sic] and a blacksmith shop. The consideration was $4,800.00 and a promise to pay James M. Davis the balance of $5,200.00 due on his mortgage. A. J. McColly built the brick building which is presently the Ligonier Theater building for his Ford dealership and automobile repair garage.
No records exist in the Westmoreland County Courthouse as to the cost of the building. A. J. McColly did not place a mortgage on the building until 1932. Records in the Office of the Prothonotary show that he was indebted to Ligonier National Bank at that time in the amount of $25,000.00. On January 7, 1937, due to financial problems, A. J. McColly and his wife Gertrude sold the property to C. G. Gonder, by deed recorded in Deed Book Volume 998, page 360, and moved his garage east on Main Street to more modest quarters on the site of the present day Ligonier Auto Parts.
Carlos G. Gonder was Manager and a Trustee of the Ligonier National Bank. He and his friend, Ligonier lumberman Harry S. Lohr acquired many properties under the names C. G. Gonder and H. S. Lohr. Generally, these properties were obtained on behalf of the Ligonier National Bank, but the acquisition in individual names avoided the regulations which banks had to follow in those days.
On March 16, 1939, by deed recorded in Deed Book Volume 1041, page 560, Gonder sold the property to James Alexas and Vilie Alexas of Johnstown, who converted the building into a theater. A stage was constructed, but only movie films were shown there for the next 50 years. A large lobby occupied the center of the structure. Shops occupied small rooms on the eastern and western sides of the building. In the late 1950s, pizza could be bought for 10 cents a slice from Harry’s Pizza on the west side of the building. Charlie Packer’s barber shop occupied the eastern storeroom.
In 1966, the Alexas family sold the property for $40,000.00 to Mellon National Bank and Trust Company (inter alia, a holding company for Richard King Mellon.) the Mellon family later remodeled the theater, making it smaller, establishing a gift shop in the center portion where the lobby had been, and changing the entrance to pass through what had once been a small store on the eastern side of the building. The idea was to generate income from the rentals to help the building pay for itself, since movie revenue was declining. At this time, cedar shakes were attached to the front of the building in an attempt to modernize it.
In 1993, Mellon Bank, by deed recorded in Deed Book Volume 3215, page 586, sold the premises to the SMT Family Partnership for consideration of $150,000.00. Local businessman Victor P. Smith was the principal involved in this transaction, and a few months later a deed was recorded in Deed Book Volume 3271, page 376 transferring the property to him and his wife, Sarah Jane Smith.
Just two months later, the Smiths sold the premises to John C. Horrell and Elizabeth A. Horrell by deed recorded in Deed Book Volume 3284, page 491, owners of The Finishing Touch, the gift shop that occupied the central (former lobby) portion of the building. The Horrells were unable to make a go of the movie business and the theater closed.
On October 23, 1997, the Valley Players of Ligonier purchased the premises for a consideration of $210,000.00. The Valley Players then spent thousands of dollars remodeling the building, refurbishing the seats, remodeling and furnishing the administrative office (formerly the projection room), and making the heating and air conditioning system operable.
Since 2003, the Valley Players has continued to make improvements to the theater, including refurbishing the outside of the building, replacing the wall coverings on the inside walls, and recarpeting the theater and the lobbies.