Independent Clintonville neighborhood cinema that opened February 17, 1938 as the Indianola Theatre — Studio 35's own official site lists it as 'home to several ghosts,' the most cited a man in 1930s clothing near the screen.
3055 Indianola Avenue, Columbus, OH 43202
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Regular movie ticket pricing for first-run, repertory, and event screenings. Drafthouse food and beer available.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Renovated cinema lobby and screening rooms
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1938 · First U.S. Theater Licensed to Sell Alcohol (early 1970s) · Continuously-Operating Neighborhood Cinema Since 1938 · Clintonville Neighborhood Landmark
The cinema opened on February 17, 1938 as the Indianola Theatre, a 700-seat single-screen neighborhood movie house on Indianola Avenue in the Clintonville section of Columbus. Its opening feature was 'Stage Door' (1937). On November 13, 1957 the theater was renamed the Fox Theatre and screened adult films for a period before reverting to neighborhood programming.
Frank Marzetti later acquired the theater and renamed it Marzetti's Studio 35 — the '35' referring to 35mm film. In the early 1970s, under Marzetti, Studio 35 became the first movie theater in the United States licensed to sell alcohol on premises, a legacy The Lantern and Columbus Underground both cite as foundational to American drafthouse culture.
Current owners Eric Brembeck and Rita Volpi acquired the cinema and undertook two major renovation rounds: in 2012 they expanded the bar area, and in 2019 they added a second screening room and an in-house pizza kitchen. Studio 35 now operates as a two-screen drafthouse with first-run, repertory, and event programming.
The theater is on Cinema Treasures' active-cinemas registry under its current name and has been the subject of multiple Columbus Underground long-form features.
Sources
Studio 35 is one of the few haunted venues in central Ohio that explicitly self-identifies on its own marketing — the official 'About' page states the cinema is 'home to several ghosts.' The cinema participates in seasonal Columbus ghost-themed programming.
The most consistently described figure, according to the Ohio Exploration Society's Franklin County hauntings list, is a man in 1930s-era clothing who is seen walking past the concession stand or near the screen. Witnesses have not associated the figure with a specific named historical individual; the period dress matches the theater's 1938 opening era.
Because the cinema is a working drafthouse rather than a paranormal-programming venue, accounts are typically secondhand from staff and patrons rather than from organized investigations. Regional paranormal-list sites (Ohio Exploration Society) treat the haunting as well-established lore rather than as a documented case.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Studio 35 has been showing movies in Clintonville since 1938. Its repertory series, beer-and-pizza programming, and seasonal Halloween/horror screenings make it an experience-driven visit; the lobby and theater are also where regulars say the 1930s-era apparition has been seen.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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