After 105 Years, Ioka to No Longer Be a Theater
The Ioka Theater’s iconic marquee, as it currently stands. Courtesy of the Exeter Theater Company.
By Andrea Luo, Anya Tang and Clark Wu
Since 1915, the Ioka Theater has stood at the heart of downtown Exeter, drawing townspeople to its many screenings. After its closure in 2008, the Ioka’s fate remained uncertain until a recent acquisition by IOKA Properties, LLC. IOKA Properties Co-Managers David A. Cowie and Jay Caswell confirmed to The Exonian that, after 105 years, the Ioka will no longer operate as a theater.
The Ioka evoked nostalgia in many town denizens. Former Chairman of the Exeter Board of Selectmen Joe Pace recalled growing up with the Ioka. “The Ioka Theater was where the boys and girls of Exeter and her surrounding towns grew up,” Pace said.
To Pace, the theater was a place of firsts:
“First time at the movies.”
“First date.”
“First kiss.”
“First time throwing M&Ms onto the lower audience from the first row of the balcony.”
Over the years, the theater endeared itself to Exeter alumni. Sarah Lee ’06 recalled that, as boarding school students, she and her peers were often denied the same social opportunities as their friends back home. “I loved the Ioka theater. It was one of the few things that we could do for ‘outings’ as young teenagers where you sort of felt like a ‘normal’ teen, if you know what I mean,” Lee said.
The Ioka also became a special place for many long-standing Academy faculty. “Though it was a tired space, it was charming. I remember seeing the lobby, with its tall counter and stools—like in an old-timey soda shop. On or behind the counter was a big popcorn maker and other snacks,” Spanish Instructor Ellen Glassner recalled. “The theater, itself, with its one extra-large screen, very high ceiling, rows and rows of old, velvet covered seats (is my memory embellishing the furnishings?), was a nostalgic artifact.”
As with Pace, the Ioka housed many memories for Lee. “I had my first high school ‘date’ at the Ioka. I believe the movie we watched was Kill Bill.” Lee said. “Needless to say, I have very fond memories of the theatre. It was a way for us to get off campus and feel like we could do something different for a change.”
To many, the Ioka served as a formative town monument that sent a message: Exeter valued a vibrant downtown. “The Ioka is one of those rare places that transcends brick and beam and becomes part of the beating heart of a community. It serves as backdrop and companion for so many of our younger days,” Pace said. “We saw, and more importantly participated in, live shows and concerts. We grew up in a town with a theater… We grew up in a town that valued the arts and valued history, amidst a world that tries every day to shove such quaint and profitless concepts to the side. We grew up in a town with a theater, and our children, and grandchildren, should too.”
A preliminary rendering of the the new Ioka building. Courtesy of David A. Crowie.
New Owners, New Ioka
However, on March 31, everything changed. Listed for $750,000 by Ruffner Real Estate, the property was sold to IOKA Properties for $450,000.
According to public corporate listings, IOKA Properties is a limited liability company established in Newburyport, Massachusetts, by co-managers Cowie and Caswell. Cowie has owned Thistle Properties and Plum Island, similar limited liability companies, while Caswell currently heads Caswell Development.
IOKA Properties is a relatively new company, created on March 17 for the purchase of the theater. “The formation of IOKA Properties, LLC, provides a vehicle for us to own and operate the entity as a standalone business,” Cowie said. “We chose the name of the new LLC in part to acknowledge the property’s historic use and for local name recognition.”
Contrary to efforts by the Ioka’s previous owner, IOKA Properties does not intend to restore the property as a movie theater. “We enthusiastically support adaptive reuse of historic buildings like the former IOKA Theater. Historic buildings cannot always continue to serve the function for which they were built, but they still have much to offer communities and society as a whole,” Cowie said. “With proper planning, they can be updated for new sustainable uses that also address accessibility, safety, security, technology needs and the like, while preserving landmark recognition and a level of craftsmanship and architectural styles not seen in new buildings.” Conceptual renderings for a renovated Ioka Theater do not feature the theater’s iconic marquee.
Additional renderings for the new Ioka. Courtesy of David A. Cowie.
Past advocates for the Ioka Theater voiced concerns about the preservation of the theater’s historical structure. “If the building is altered significantly on the front, no matter what the future uses, I’d be very disappointed, as I think others in the community would [be] too,” Carol Walker Aten, who assisted previous refurbishment efforts, said.
Exeter Selectwoman and Exeter Theater Company member Julie Gilman also recognized that adaptive reuse may be necessary. She pointed to Station 19, the former Exeter fire station, and Otis, a former jeweler’s, as relatively successful projects of historical preservation in the community. “Water Street is recognized on the National Register of Historic Places. Not the IOKA by itself but as a District in whole,” Gilman said.
Gilman additionally raised many questions the new owners will inevitably need to answer. “What tax revenue will it bring? Will it bring more people downtown? If so will it be a big number? It's considered a ‘jewel’ of the downtown, will it still be?”
However, according to some members of the community, reuse of the theater would require major redevelopment. “The building itself has been fallow so long that I don’t know what is still salvageable inside,” Pace said. “There are probably herculean investments needed to bring it to any sort of viability.”
Before taking any form of action on the property, IOKA Properties plans to work with town officials to figure out what would be best for the building. “We are genuinely excited about our vision for the adaptive reuse of the former theater building, but we first want to meet with town officials for an introduction of IOKA Properties, LLC, and to gain their initial feedback and guidance,” Cowie said.
A History of the “Playground”
The tale of the Ioka begins with Edward D. Mayer, the New Yorker son of two German immigrants, who moved to Exeter in 1911. A lawyer and traffic court judge, he spotted a prospect in the land next to the town hall. Mayer decided to build a theater and persuaded townspeople to invest in his new project.
Financially overextended, Mayer accumulated much debt. Prior to the theater’s first opening, due to unsuccessful behind-the-scenes operation, Mayer failed to pay back his creditors. As stated by the Exeter Historical Society’s records, by the time authorities arrived to deliver bankruptcy papers and demand repayment, Mayer had already fled.
According to James Rathbone, the theater’s first manager, Mayer held a contest amongst employees to select a proper name for the theater before his departure. Jessie Griffith, the cashier, recommended the name “Ioka,” a Squamscott word meaning “Indian playground.” She won the contest, and Mayer promised her a lifetime pass to the theater—though she never received the prize.
On November 1, 1915, the theater opened to a showing of The Birth of a Nation, directed by D. W. Griffith. The film was highly controversial, adapted from a story originally titled The Clansman that presented the Ku Klux Klan as a heroic force. The debut was advertised in Exeter by having two men ride through the town streets in white Klansmen gowns.
In those days, musicians accompanied the silent films under old gas lamps and behind stained curtains.
The Ioka debuted with the highly controversial film The Birth of a Nation.
In 1917, the creditors of the Ioka sold the theater to a “Newburyport Man” suspected to be Ralph Pratt, owner of the Exeter Opera House, for $20,200.
The rapid development of American cinema compelled the Ioka to adapt. From 1922 to 1936, a series of new installments kept the Ioka a popular jewel in town: Mazda lamps in the projectors that eliminated the flickering screen, a $25,000 Aeolian organ, “talkie” films and “floating comfort” seating.
As with any small-town theater, however, the eventual rise of American television culture after the Great Depression caused the Ioka to lose thousands of customers per week.
Inconsistent management since the 1960s struck another blow to the financial health of the theater. In July, 1963, according to Exeter Historical Society records, Fred J. Schaake of Barn Realty purchased the theater from Mulcahy Trust, heirs of the Ralph Pratt estate. From 1965 to 1972, the theater was leased to Edward Callahan, a 20th Century Fox film distributor. Callahan closed the theater due to accumulating repair fees.
Schaake reclaimed the IOKA, but it remained vacant for two years until Ron Cloutier, Andy Bickford and Jim Blanco refurbished and reopened the theater in 1975 with new seats, paint, curtains and a sound system.
In 1980, the government forced a tax sale of the Ioka due to tax debt. The property stayed on the market for 2 months, until the managers and creditors repurchased the theater with newly earned, or perhaps loaned, funds.
By late 1989, owner Schaake deemed the theater unprofitable and announced plans to sell. Slated to go to auction with a minimum bid of $500,000, the IOKA was assessed at $298,000. Schaake stated that, if no buyer was found, he would develop the theater into a “suite hotel,” unless a community group came forward to purchase the building.
This spurred the town’s very first preservation effort, a non-profit organization, “Friends of the IOKA,” created by Blanco. The group sought to reinvigorate the theater and bring in new facilities and performers, but the community made no real, concrete effort to enact their lofty goals.
The Ioka remained on the market until 1995, when Blanco purchased the theater outright. He also converted the lower floor of the theater into an Art Deco-styled club with a smaller screening room named “Club Ioka.” In 2004, Blanco sold the IOKA to Roger Detzler.
According to Detzler, Blanco designed “Club Ioka” the perfect place for a party. At one point, the space contained a swimming pool and featured night club energy. Detzler rented this location for private parties, especially to large local businesses such as Timberland or Osram Sylvania, which used the club for company parties.
On Christmas Eve, 2008, the Ioka played its last movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, before Roger Detzler lost his theater occupancy permit due to a lack of sprinklers.
Following this closure, Pace initiated the town’s second effort to save the Ioka. “Rather than see it converted into condos or demolished, I posted on social media that it would be interesting to see the Ioka bought by a community group and reimagined as a public space, a venue and conduit for the arts,” he said. “The idea drew many like-minded people, and together, we formed the Exeter Theater Company, a non-profit organization that studied how we might go about acquiring and managing the building.”
As the efforts unraveled in March, 2009, Emmy and Peabody award-winning producer Marc Murai joined the venture. A tour of the theater with Detzler sparked his interest in acquiring the Ioka. Murai’s connections brought the team “workable partnerships with arts entrepreneurs,” Pace recalled.
Murai launch a campaign to revitalize the theater as a center for digital and performing arts. His vision saw an open theater in the daytime, serving as a venue for performances, concerts and movies. At night, an underground area would be used for classes and concerts. This plan promised to restore the Ioka as a destination in Exeter and would create up to 25 jobs.
In two weeks, Murai’s campaign raised more than $10,000 and involved 2,000 individuals on Facebook.
However, Murai’s initial plan hinged on in-state investors. Despite the local interest, investors denied the offer, unconvinced that a $750,000 purchase would amount to significant gains. The focus soon turned to out-of-state investors, though those plans too fell through.
The theater remained on the market until 2011, when Alan Lewis of Kensington Exeter, LLC purchased the Ioka at a bank foreclosure auction for $600,000.
After the purchase, Lewis entered negotiations with the Exeter Theater Company to preserve the Ioka’s original function. The Company’s strategy, as outlined in their 2013 business plan, highlighted “great shows with good food and drink.” The group emphasized a community-oriented approach. In addition to regularly scheduled screenings and events, the Ioka would also be “available to the public for lectures, classes, workshops, local arts and musical entertainment.”
Aten, an artist and key Company member, spoke on the group’s vision of the revamped theater. “The IOKA was going to be a two-level theater with the addition of updated digital equipment, sound, and seats, etc. We toured other operating theaters and got the idea to add a bar on the balcony (The Carbon Arc Lounge),” she said. “The team liked the idea of an ‘arthouse’ theater with combined live music, film and small theater productions.”
Gilman elaborated on the Company’s efforts and struggles behind the scenes. “When the Company first approached the owner, there was discussion of a long-term low-cost lease… [Requirements] were met. But the line in the sand kept moving and communication with the owner was difficult,” she said.
When Lewis raised the required donation minimum for more serious negotiations, the Company “reached a plateau,” Gilman recalled. “While residents of the greater Exeter area contributed small amounts to a big project, donors who may have contributed large amounts of money were reluctant to commit to a nonprofit in which the property owner was not equally committed,” she said.
The Company "returned the donations when the proposal fell through,” Gilman recalled.
The history of the beleaguered Ioka is shrouded with controversy and hardship—what once began as a local entertainment center turned into an economic and cultural heart of downtown Exeter. Though it will no longer be a theater, the fate of the Ioka remains uncertain.
Town Director of Economic Development Darren Winhsm expressed his confidence that the Ioka would prosper under new ownership. “Owing to its history, central location and size, whatever the Ioka becomes will be an economic driver for the Town and its impact on local businesses, I assume, will be positive and possibly profound,” Winham said.
Pace lamented the town’s loss of a cultural relic. “Ask any of the downtown merchants and restaurateurs if an active, functioning theater on Water Street would have a positive financial impact on their bottom line,” he said. “A thriving entertainment business, one fully embraced by the community, has unlimited potential to be a magnet for local tourist and outing dollars. History, economy, art—these are very real and legitimate reasons that the community should find a way to protect the Ioka.”
Despite their disappointment, some residents looked forward with hope. “My first reaction is disappointment that the [Ioka’s] use will not be a theater,” Gilman said. “But, I do understand the cost of that function both in upgrades and operations going forward. I am encouraged that the owners recognize that adaptive reuse is important for the integrity of an historic downtown.”
The townspeople of Exeter await new plans for the beloved theater, conscious of its role both in the history and future of the town. “I believe the IOKA should be preserved. Not as a museum piece, as a fly in amber from some prehistoric time,” Pace said. “But as a dynamic, vibrant participant in the cultural soul of New Hampshire's best small town.”