Standard Theatre

When I was in the Standard booth in the 60s, they had 2 Motiograph AA projectors and Motiograph Sound.

How big was the Standard? Any idea? Medium size? Was there a balcony?

The Standard was rather small. I would guess about 800 seats. There was NO balcony. This was a very basic theatre. The operator could walk out of the booth and overlook the lobby. There was a large opening in the wall just outside the booth. During the latter X-rated days, there was only the barest of concessions. I believe popcorn was free! There was a double-bill with the bottom half usually being almost unwatchable. But, as far as I know, the Standard never resorted to "loops." They were always real movies. Everything was 35mm.

The Standard shared Prospect Ave with the Hippodrome's secondary box office. The two theaters were on the same side of the street a block apart. When I walked by the theater in the mid to late fifties it had already closed. Some time in 1958 or 59 it reopened as a German Language theatre. I moved from Cleveland in so don't know how long that lasted.

I was one of the last people to walk into the Standard theatre back in the early part of the 1990's on a Friday afternoon. I was with a closed friend who is in the general contracting business and he had to walk through the building to give an estimate to the present land owner. I remember a photographer being inside the building at the time shooting a large format 4x5 camera of the stage area where the screen was previously located. I asked him why he was taking pictures and he said that they had commissioned him to take the pictures for historic documentation and records. I recall the amazing architecture and well worn red seating. There was an old Altec-Lansing voice of the theatre speaker sitting a few feet back from where the screen was located. If the Photographer had not been there with his quartz flood lighting, I would not have seen such detail. The theatre seemed very small but I realized that it opened in the time of silent movies. Even more amazing and upsetting, they started demolition the very next day on Saturday. If I had known that they were going to demolish the theatre, I probably would have stayed much longer. My friend was in a rush that day and I did not get the opportunity to view the projection room. I had visions of seeing old Western Electric 91A equipment with etched based 300A tube treasures! So much for dreams! To this day, the new building that replaced the old theatre has never been occupied.

A Wurlitzer organ Opus 67 Style 3 was installed in the Standard Theater on 8/29/1915.

Here is an early 60's ad for the Standard Theater.

As an adult theater, this was known as the Lido Theater. This is a 1981 ad for the Lido Theater. Note the same 811 Prospect address.

Lido Theater should be listed as an aka.

Was Lido its last name? If so, Lido should be its primary name.

1962 photo of the Standard Theatre.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=CATAdvancedSearch1%2c35%2c3%2c-1&catpagesize=25&ProductID=29495

1948 photo of the Standard Theatre.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=CATAdvancedSearch1%2c35%2c3%2c-1&catpagesize=25&ProductID=31878
1982 photo of the Standard Theatre.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=CATAdvancedSearch1%2c35%2c3%2c-1&catpagesize=25&ProductID=31879

LOL. By the 80's unless you looked closely you wouldnt know a theater was there.

Posting to re-link notification :(

The year given for this ad is 1961.

This was also known as the Lido Art Cinema. Here is a 1979 photo.