Mayland Theatre

5900 Mayfield Road,
Mayfield Heights, OH 44124

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Showing 51 - 59 of 59 comments

dave-bronx™
dave-bronx™ on October 1, 2004 at 11:47 am

The Mayland was fairly run down when General Cinema bought it in 1970 or 71. We were all very surprised that they bought it. They did cosmetic work on the interior when they split it – new seats, suspended ceilings, candy stand, carpet, wallpaper. And they hung that big Habitat Dome-Sphere chandelier in the lobby rotunda. They didn’t do any work on the exterior. The water problem was due to the fact that the county (or whoever runs the sewers in the street) reversed the flow under the street and it would back up into the basement. GCC had installed a check valve, but we were expected to climb down in a 15 foot deep manhole out front and turn a big wheel to close it, something that nobody, myself included, would do. The incinerator in the cellar had been sealed by the city when everybody started worrying about air pollution. The haunting symptoms would only occur when the place was closed and there were only a couple of people around – cold spots in the lobby, doors that I knew were closed and locked would be open, crashing noises in the attic. The theatre had a cat, and sometimes i’d see her rubbing on someones leg, although there was nobody there. The porter when I was there had been there for a long time – an old guy named Abe Smart – used to tell us all kinds of stories about the old times, and the way the theatre used to be.

rogers
rogers on October 1, 2004 at 9:14 am

Dwodeyla: Well, I worked at a lot of the theatres on the east side of Cleveland, and a few on the west side. I was an apprentice stagehand for about 3 years, and as such, worked what the local union called “The Extra List” — which meant that I usually was assigned to a different place every night, or at best, every week or so. I did stay at the Ezella for a long time, because none of our journeymen stagehands bid on the job. When that happened, the union gave it to the apprentice with the most seniority — or sometimes to the guy they liked best. I could just about write a book about Cleveland theatres! By the way: The most “haunted” theatres I ever worked were the Park and Keith’s 105th Street, and then the old Hippodrome, downtown. I never saw a ghost in any of them, but strange noises, rustling curtains, and creaking floorboards were always present. There were even some old backstage dressing rooms that seemed colder than normal, for no apparent reason. But I could go on and on, and I’m sure whoever’s running this site would get upset with me. Soon as I figure out how to do it, I’ll add a few lines about the Ezella. I knew that old place from top to bottom!
I’m really happy to see that somebody cares something about the old Cleveland theatres. There were really some great ones. It’s a shame that most of them are now gone, and when old codgers like me are gone, who’ll be left to tell their stories? Anybody out there remember the Doan, the Liberty; the Uptown; the Knickerbocker; the Upper and Lower Mall; the Alhambra; the Stillman; the University; the Granada; the Lyric; the Union Square; and there’s probably 100 more!

David Wodeyla
David Wodeyla on October 1, 2004 at 8:06 am

Roger and dave-bronx, I think readers may be enjoying the anecdotes, at least I am.
Roger, I hope you’ll post some information about the Ezella under that theatre’s listing. Were there other theatres you’d care to share some stories about?

rogers
rogers on October 1, 2004 at 7:39 am

Dave: Sounds like the old place really went downhill in the 70s! I worked there from about 1952 until 1955. I started as an usher at age 15. My mother worked in the concession stand, and I dated a girl who was the cashier. H. C. (Cliff)Pegg was the manager. I cleaned and painted that old downstairs men’s room many times, and of course, I used to burn trash in the incinerator in the boiler room. I never saw even so much as a trace of a leak in either the walls or the floor, so the flooding conditions must have started later on. The sidewalk heater was originally steam-heated. But we were told that a truck ran over it at some point early on, and the pipes broke. They replaced the concrete and installed the wires, and I remember that there was a separate box in the electric room that controlled this. We had to make sure that thing was on during snowy or cold weather, and off when it was warm – a pain in the posterior!
Of course I never knew about Rex, the porter. We had a famous and well-known stagehand by the name of Rex Anderson, who was a good friend of mine! I’m sure glad to know it was not he who hanged himself! As for hauntings from the pre-Rex days, I could tell you all sorts of stories about that! Finally, I’ll be happy to furnish info about the Ezella. I worked there as a stagehand – for about two years in the late 50s.

dave-bronx™
dave-bronx™ on October 1, 2004 at 2:10 am

rogers – You mentioned the Ezella – I had forgotten about it until you mentioned it here. I remember seeing the name in the movie directory in the paper, but never knew anything about it. I started a page for it on this site. When the webmaster sets it up could you please tell us something about it? Thanks.

dave-bronx™
dave-bronx™ on October 1, 2004 at 1:54 am

When I worked there in the 1970s, we found those big blacklight lenses for the side walls up in the attic. The sidewalk heating must have been changed because we had steam pipes from the boilers going out there, but they leaked and we didn’t use them anymore. Modern sold the parking lot to the Lincoln-Mercury dealer. GCC only owned the ground the building was sitting on and the small parking area directly in front. The marquee had a lot of flashing neon on it, but the city of Mayfield Heights changed their sign laws and forced us to have it adjusted so it no longer flashed. The mens room had been in the basement, but when it rained the basement would fill up with water as high as 2 steps from the lobby. When GCC renovated they made a new mens room on the first floor. If we were there when it started to rain heavily I had to go downstairs and shut off the gas for the boilers and the electric for the house fan and a/c compressor motors. After the tide went out the HVAC contractor would come and dry out all the equipment and start it up again. Jack Essex’s secretary came there to the movies once and told us about the porter, Rex, who had asked Essex for a raise because he was having trouble supporting his family. Essex wouldn’t give him the raise, and that night after the theatre closed and everyone was gone, Rex hanged himself on the stage. Before we had heard that we thought the place was haunted, because there were always strange things happening there.

rogers
rogers on September 30, 2004 at 7:31 pm

The Mayland Theatre opened in September, 1948, with a gala stage show featuring Tex Beneke and the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Manager was Art Brown. The theatre was part of the Cleveland-based Modern Theatres, Inc. chain, which also owned the Vine Theatre in Willoughby; the Berea Theatre in Berea; and the Ezella and Madison theatres in Cleveland. Principal owners of the chain were brothers, Jack and Ray Essex and Howard Reif. The Mayland had what was described as “the largest marquee in Ohio,” as well as the only circular lobby in the state. The auditorium held 1600 seats, later reduced to 1550 when a “panoramic screen” was installed, (circa
1953), in preparation for the Cinemascope presentation of “The Robe."
Other unusual characteristics of the theatre included "black (ultra-violet)lighting” on the side walls of the auditorium – said to be
the first such wall lighting used in the U.S. The theatre’s parking
lot was advertised to accomodate up to 1000 cars — a first for the
Cleveland area. The cement sidewalk area in front of the theatre entrance and box office was heated by electrical wires imbedded in the concrete — allowing patrons easy access without slipping on ice or snow during Ohio’s frequently fierce winters.

posted by rogers on September 30, 2004 at 10:30 pm

David Wodeyla
David Wodeyla on July 26, 2004 at 12:48 pm

Anyone have a photo they could email to me?
I visited the theatre once, during a tour of the Cleveland Theatres with General Cinema must’ve been just before it closed.

dave-bronx™
dave-bronx™ on July 26, 2004 at 11:51 am

MAYLAND CINEMA (GC unit #694)
5900 Mayfield Road
Mayfield Heights, Ohio 44124

Original Mayland Theater built in 1940s by Jack Essex, owner, original architect unknown, as a neighborhood movie house – aprx 1400 seats – purchased by General Cinema 1971 – referred to as Mayland Cinema – renovated and split in half aprx 1972 – William Riseman & Associates, Architects – Cinema I 600 seats – Cinema 2 600 seats – (We suspected it was haunted by Rex, a porter who had hanged himself on the stage when the theatre was fairly new, a lot of strange things occurred there) – closed by GCC aprx 1990 – renovated into Barnes & Noble Bookstore 1992 – closed by B&N aprx 2000 – vacant at present time.