State Theatre
1519 Euclid Avenue,
Playhouse Square,
Cleveland,
OH
44115
1519 Euclid Avenue,
Playhouse Square,
Cleveland,
OH
44115
11 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 33 of 33 comments
Yes, the Palace also had Cinerama, and they also ripped out the opera boxes on either side of the stage to accommodate the cinerama screen. Those boxes have now been restored. They had the projection booth built under the balcony, but did not rip out any of the balcony structure as was done at the Loew’s State. I have photos of the Palace from when the PSA first got in there, and they show the red curtains covering the area where the extended screen was, and others where the booth under the balcony can be seen. Also photos of the balcony of the State with the cut-back clearly visable.
Does anyone know if the Palace also had Cinerama? I seem to remember it did. I was never inside, unfortunately. From pictures I’ve seen it looked like the fanciest of the four theaters. Sadly, I dont live near Cleveland anymore, so I cant enjoy their 2nd life.
Thanks for all the pics!
Thanks for all the info guys. I think the seating is close to 3000 now, but I’m not sure. I do remember reading about them installing Cinerama in the late 60’s. It hardly mattered as it closed shortly after. I’m so glad they were able to save all 4 theaters. Its a booming theater district now.
I worked here as a volunteer usher in the late 70s when they were trying to save it from the wrecking ball. Warren’s seat count is correct for the time it opened in 1921. In the 70s when they were trying to raise money to save it, they were running a dinner theatre in the lobby (there were no seats in the auditorium at the time) and they could seat (in the lobby) about 500 people for dinner at tables. In this theatre there had not been too much damage from exposure to the elements, most of the damage had been done by Loew’s. The auditorium had everything but the dome spray painted black. The opera boxes on either side of the screen had been ripped out so they could install a Cinerama screen. The Cinerama projection booth was installed under the balcony and required the balcony structure above to be cut back several rows for the beam to properly hit the screen. When it closed Loew’s sold everything that wasn’t nailed down, and some stuff that was – chandeliers, paintings, furniture, seats, etc. This is a Thomas Lamb theatre in the Adamesque style. As mentioned above, the site was on the side street, and the auditorium was behind the Keith’s Palace Theatre – the back wall of the State auditorium was against the back wall of the Palace stage. In order to have the entrance on the main avenue the lobby was built along the full length of the Palace. The figure I remember was from the curb to the auditorium entrance was 500 feet. When it was restored in the 80s, they built a new stagehouse as big as the auditorium that can handle the Metropolitan Opera when they tour. The public areas have been restored to original and the electrical/mechanical/HVAC systems replaced. It is a beautiful theatre.
I believe it. It was huge!
I would hardly call this theater moderate. I think it seated over 3,000. Not sure its capacity now.
The State boasted one of the longest theater lobbies in the country. I think it stretched over 300 feet from the entrance to the auditorium. The reason for this was that Loews wanted an entrance on Euclid Ave. with the other theaters being built there, but the actual auditorium was on a side street (I think 17th St.) behind the Palace theater which was right next door. So one had to traverse the length of the Palace to reach the State auditorium way in the back of the block. I remember being there once as a kid in the 60’s with my cousin and the long walk through the endless seeming lobby and being seated in the vast, dark, mostly empty auditorium (was a weekly matinee). During the refurbishing, the lobby housed a dinner theater, so you can imagine the size of it.