Ambassador Theatre
3065 Madison Road,
Cincinnati,
OH
45209
3065 Madison Road,
Cincinnati,
OH
45209
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Contributed by
Joe Allen
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Recent comments (view all 20 comments)
Was there a balcony at the Ambassador? It was a block away from the 20th Century and by the early 70s it was my impression the “classier” films played there, the 20th Century got more of the “young crowd” films.
What a great stretch on Madison Road in Oakley: The 20th Century, the Ambassador, and the Oakley Drive-In!
Here is a 1981 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/cswwtx
1983 photo of the Ambassador Theatre.(Closed)
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1986 photo of the Ambassador Theatre.(stripped)
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The Ambassador has been demolished and is now a parking lot.
This is from Boxoffice in October 1945:
CINCINNATI-Sale of the Oakley Theater building on Madison Road and plans for extensive modernization of the building were announced last Saturday. The building contains three stores, a theater and a lodge hall.
Following the sale, the owners leased the property to the Amnassador Theatre Co. for a 20-year period. It is planned to spend more than $75,000 modernizing the building, which fronts 70 feet on Madison Road and extends back 289 feet to Markbreit Avenue.
The entire front will be given a new facade and the theater lobby will be enlarged to include what is now a store space. the auditorium will be enlarged to accommodate approximately 850 patrons. Parking facilities will also be provided.
August 9 1974 THE STING opens,at the Ambassador. It was under the banner NEIGHBORHOOD THEATRES. They ran 11 screens in Cincinnati. IT was 2.50 a seat to see the STING.
Does anyone know if the Ambassador featured some “double” seats?
(They’ve been described as small loveseats.)
I worked the AMBASSADOR THEATRE during the strike of 1974 when Levin Services operated the theatre along with the 20TH CENTURY, ESQUIRE and HYDE PARK. They also ran two drive ins. The JOLLY ROGER was later added to the strike. There was no balcony. It was vandalized during the strike as seats were slashed, screen slashed, speaker wires slashed (this theatre was a magnetic stereo sound), the 4 projectors were destroyed by taking a crow bar to the intermittents, the carbon arc generator had its wires cut. The print of THE STING was ruined by pouring film cement on the side of each reel. Reel 7 was saved by still being in the bottom magazine. It took us 2 weeks to reopen.
Levin’s did close the theatre as well as the other ones. AMBASSADOR became an ACE hardware for some time.
Ashamed of my Union for doing this,I assume it was Iatse since not a lot is given about the Strike.I don’t see that happening where I live in Georgia.
Mike, it was rumored that the Chicago union (which was very strong) was responsible for the break in. Levins had a a story that the drive in they ran there near Chicago contract was up for renewal and they walked in, told to sign the contract on the table without discussion or negotiations.