History
The site of the Norwalk Theatre was originally where the first Mayor of Norwalk, James Williams lived until 1938, where the site was sold to the Schine Chain Theaters. In 1941 the Moderne influenced building, an offshoot of Art Deco design, was constructed under the direction of John Eberson, the "dean of theater design" and his son Drew.
In 1969, the Schine Chain Theaters sold the theater to Realty Equity of New York. Following this in 1972 Leonard Jefferson from Sandusky purchased the theater, only to be sold in 1974 to the Towne and Country Players. Towne & Country Players retained ownership of the theater until 2006. Through those 30+ years, the theater was used as a movie house, as well as live entertainment. Cosmetic updates were made, but the building was beginning to show severe deterioration by early 2000s.
Towne & Country Players sold to private owners in 2006, who eventually sold to another private owner in 2012. This owner bought the theatre to preserve the historical significance of the building and eventually sold the facility to the Norwalk Arts Center, LLC. in 2019. The Norwalk Theatre was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022.