Then, in 1997 the National Register of Historic Places announced that the Ohio Theater would be preserved for all time. The same year, the city lost Merilliat Industries, a company whose loss cost the city $30,000 in tax revenue. The Loudonville Board of Recreation took over the theater in 1997 as well. But due to the loss of revenue and the drop in attendance, the last film was stated to be Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. However, three local freshman girls raised $4,000 in a local talent show to get new balcony seats and electrical work. And the next year, LTAC (Loudonville Theater Arts Committee), which was headed by Kerry MacQueen, raised over $5,000 in a day-long event of performances, tours and a showing of The Wizard of Oz, and later in the evening they showed the same film with the soundtrack The Dark Side of the Moon. Ten years later, the theater is still going strong, providing multiple entertainment opportunities including the Loudonville High School Drama Club musicals.