Euclid Theater

History

The original Euclid Theater was located at the corner of East 9th Street and Chester Avenue in downtown Cleveland, and developed by Joseph Lorange. ⁶ The three-story building was previously home to the Cyclorama and was extensively reconstructed and partly rebuilt to house four retail spaces on the ground floor, 10,000 square-feet of office space on the second and third floors, and a 1,600-seat movie theater.

The theatre, measuring 80-feet by 100-feet, contained a first floor, mezzanine floor and balcony with a grand marble staircase and a lobby 24-feet wide. ⁶ The building was built of reinforced concrete and included the largest concrete span in the state, at 80-feet in length, for the balcony.

The new building opened to tenants on February 1, 1918, and the Euclid Theater opened on March 1, at the cost of $300,000. ⁶ It closed on May 7, 1922, ⁹ and demolished in June to make way for the 22-story Union Trust Company Building tower. ^{7 8}

In 1924, Lorange leased 16341-7 Euclid Avenue at Ivanhoe Square in rapidly growing East Cleveland for the development of a new theater, six retail units, and 16 efficiency apartments. ³ Lorange selected Frank W. Ball as the architect and W.I. Thompson & Son Company as the contractor for the new development.

The new 1,000-seat Euclid Theater, the successor to Lorange’s downtown location, opened on May 22, 1925 ² under the operation of Community Theaters, Inc. ¹ The interior was decorated in an “oriental Japanese” scheme with music furnished by a Marr & Coulton organ with Arthur T. Puggsley at the console. It was announced in June 1929 that the Euclid Theater would be equipped with the latest in sound and talkie picture devices. The new Western Electric equipment was inaugurated on January 19, 1930. ⁴

The Euclid Theater was closed by 1950. ⁵

Further Reading

Sources

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1. “Another East Side House Goes Talkie.” Cleveland Plain Dealer 30 June 1929, Amusement & Radio: 5. Print.
2. “New Euclid Theater Opens Next Friday.” Cleveland Plain Dealer 17 May 1925: Dramatic Feature: 4. Print.
3. “New Ivanhoe Square Block and Theater in New Hands.” Cleveland Plain Dealer 28 Feb. 1926: 2C. Print.
4. “Euclid, University Replacement Equipment.” Cleveland Plain Dealer 19 Jan. 1930: Women’s Magazine & Amusement: 14. Print.
5. Walczak, Christopher. “Euclid Theater.” Cinema Treasures. Web. 20 Mar. 2015. Article.
6. Robertson, William. “Big New Downtown 1,600-Seat Movie Picture Theater Nearing Completion.” Cleveland Plain Dealer 29 Dec. 1918: 28. Print.
7. “Wrecking Euclid Theater.” Cleveland Plain Dealer 13 May 1922: 11. Print.
8. “Union Trust Near Decision.” Cleveland Plain Dealer 12 May 1922: 28. Print.
9. “Euclid’s Passing.” Cleveland Plain Dealer 11 May 1922: 16. Print.

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