by Wesley Harris
The National Park Service has added Dubach’s Gem Theater to the National Register of Historic Places.
Owners Eric and Suzanne Hanna were ecstatic to receive the word from Bailey Hall, the National Register Coordinator for the Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation in Baton Rouge last week.
Hanna said, “We would really like to thank Bailey Hall of the Historic Preservation Office. She helped us through every phase of the submission process. Also, this would have never happened without help from my daughter, Megan Hanna Fry, who tirelessly took mountains of research notes and organized it into a coherent narrative, correcting my grammar and spelling along the way.”
Originally built in 1937, by George L. Trammell and called the Wahoo, the theater was in operation until the final movie (Kiss of the Vampire) was shown in 1964. Along the way, it survived the Great Depression, World War II, and a devastating fire.
The name changed to the Joy Theater and finally to the Gem Theater in 1953 when it was rebuilt after the fire.
The theater became the property of Margaret Fuller Sheehan in 1962 after the Fontenot Family closed it. Jimmy Johnson became the final operator, renting the building from Mrs. Sheehan in 1963, but was not able to make a go of it.
Sheehan then used the building for storage, and her sons Roland and John Lane used the property for band practice when they were in high school.
In 2023, Roland Sheehan sold the property to the Hannas with a legacy clause stating the property could only be used as a theater.
“I grew up in Dubach,” Hanna said, “and I was always fascinated by the theater even though it was boarded up. When the Dubach Legends group restored the baseball field and made other improvements in town, that motivated us to do our part to help bring Dubach back.”
According to Hanna, the inside of the theater is a time capsule. He has found old advertising posters and ticket stubs. Even the original carbon arc 35mm projectors remain in the projection room with clips of film strewn on the floor.
Only emergency repairs, including a roof and a replacement of a set of dangerously rotted stairs, have been competed at this point. Other work was held up awaiting the National Register designation and approval of historic preservation tax credits.
“We hope to begin work within just a few weeks,” Hanna said, “just as soon as we get a permit from the State Fire Marshal and the final bids from contractors.”
The Hannas are planning to reopen the building as a theater and entertainment venue, with a stage large enough to accommodate live performances.
“This is going to be a really awesome venue,” Hanna said. “We have been contacted by many people and organizations who have an interest in using this theater for events.”
The Gem Theater joins 31 other Lincoln Parish properties on the National Register of Historic Places. The last addition to the list was the Ruston Power & Light Plant in 2019, which is being renovated as a housing/dining/shopping venue.
