Copley Theatre
853 Copley Road,
Akron,
OH
44320
853 Copley Road,
Akron,
OH
44320
1 person
favorited this theater
The Copley Theatre opened March 27, 1947 with Bette Davis is “Deception”, and only operated for a brief period until 1952. It reopened in 1953 in it’s more notable form as the longtime home of WAKC Channel 23, which was for many years the local Akron-based ABC affiliate. It funtioned in this capacity until 1996 when the station was converted and sold, eventually winding up as a PAX affiliate.
Although Channel 23 (now WVPX) still operates as as ITV (“Independent TV”, the new version of PAX), Paxson Communications (parent of PAX) sold the building in 1997 to Good Shepherd Missionary Baptist Church who remained in the building until at least September 2016. They had moved out by August 2018 and the building stood vacant until 2022 when it was demolished. A laundrette and gas station have been built on the site.
Contributed by
Rolling Acres
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
WAKR (not WAKC) was originally Channel 49. It moved to Channel 23 some time between 1965 and 1968, while I was living there.
That’s true Ron. I just put the most recent info about the station lest this become more of an entry for the TV station than the theater. But for accuracy’s sake, it did open in 1953 as WAKR. They did switch the call letters to WAKC later down the line, though.
It was WAKR when I lived there, and I didn’t realize that they had later changed their call letters.
March 27th, 1947 grand opening ad in photo section.
Opened with Bette Davis in “Deception” along with an unnamed cartoon, unnamed musical short, and a newsreel.
WVPX-TV now operates as an ION Television affiliate for the Cleveland market.
The building has been torn down and a laundry mat has been built on the site.