During the history of the theatre it had five different owners during the first eight years.  The demise of the theater could be related to a number of things such as the audiences did not care for drama or the theatre.  However, the theatre would eventually fall in the hands of Merle Blair.  Blair would rejuvenate the crumbling theatre by fixing the physical layout as well as bringing in movies instead of the traveling drama shows.  In fact, the Regent was one of the first theaters in Iowa to introduce sound to movies.  Blair also used the theatre for community events as well.