Rowland Theater  The Rowland Theater (alternately spelled Theatre), located at 127 North Front Street, Philipsburg, Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States, is an historic single screen movie theater, built in 1917 by Charles Hedding Rowland. The theater is owned by the borough of Phillipsburg. The site of the Rowland Theatre building was previously occupied by the Pierce Opera House. Owned by Philipsburg business man J.H. Pierce and built sometime before 1889, this three story building was destroyed by fire, along with several other downtown buildings, on December 30, 1910. Then the Rowland family purchased the Opera House property on December 31, 1915, and immediately began making plans for the construction of a building which could house live theatrical performances as well as conventions and public meetings. The theatre is currently owned by Philipsburg Borough and leased to Rowland Theatre, Inc. a 501(c)3 non-profit. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It is located in the Philipsburg Historic District. U.S. Congressman Charles Hedding Rowland, born December 20, 1860, was one of several enterprising businessmen who engaged in coal mining operations in the Philipsburg Area. He was president of both the Moshannon Coal Mining Company and the Pittsburg and Susquehanna Railroad Companies during the late 19th century. He was later elected as a representative of the Republican Party to the 64th and 65th Congress. His terms of office as a U.S. Congressman began in March, 1915, and ended in March, 1919. He declined a re-nomination in 1918, serving out his remaining term before retiring. Construction then was carried out under the direction of architect Julian Millard, designer, with W. A. Hoyt, serving as the construction engineer. Planning began in 1915, with construction starting in 1916, and completed in mid 1917  After completion of the construction of the theater, Rowland released this statement in a brochure distributed to the public on opening night in June, 1917:  "“The people of Philipsburg have long indulged the hope of a comfortable and commodious place of amusement and entertainment. For years we have had no suitable place for public meetings, entertaining conventions, or any auditorium large enough for the varied necessities of a community as large as ours. Such a building is a public necessity. The town needs it in order to keep pace with sister communities. Community growth would be retarded without such a public convenience." ""I have felt that we should have a theatre building in Philipsburg of size, safety and perfection of appointment that would anticipate the future, maintain our best past traditions, reflect a progressive spirit, while affording us a place to spend a delightful evening at home.