Southgate Cinema
5390 Northfield Road,
Maple Heights,
OH
44137
5390 Northfield Road,
Maple Heights,
OH
44137
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This was the first General Cinema theatre to open in the Cleveland area in 1964. This theatre was unique when it first opened, since it had the largest (at the time) screen in the area, and had ‘smoking loges’. (Now smoking is prohibited in movie theatres.)
GCC triplexed the theatre in the 1970’s. The theatre was sold to an independent operator in 1992, and under independent ownership, two more screens were added. The theatre closed for good in 1998.
Contributed by
Toby Radloff
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Recent comments (view all 23 comments)
The aperture plate was cut to allow the picture to fill out the screen to the edges of the shadowbox.
Sorry, that didn’t answer my question. The screen was 2.35, right? I’m familiar with trimming the aperture plate to compensate for keystone, but you still have (on Southgate’s 65' screen)what, three or four feet on each side with a 1.85 picture. What are you refering to as the shadowbox? The way the screen appeared with no curtains or stage?
Some of the original plans, sections and detail drawings for this theatre, from the office of the architectural firm William Riseman Associates, are now part of the J. Evan Miller Collection of cinema plans, which is held by the special collections department at Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
I was employed by the GCC from 1979-1982, and maintained/changed the marquees, and assisted in theater maintenace, at four properties(Southgate, Randall Park, Mayland, Shoregate- as well as the Vogue for RKO)
Any pictures that can be shared would be sincerely appreciated. I am most interested in Southgate, because I fell from that roof in ‘79. I was on a straight ladder at the top of the marquee, leaned out too far and fell first to the roof, then momemtum carried me off the roof to the concrete.
I remember installing the sensoround, and what a big deal it was at the time.
What happened to Dave Manthie, or the regional director?
Renewing link.
Dave Manthie left the company to work for McDonald’s (I think…it was some fast food company anyway) and the regional director, Ed Dineen, retired in the late 80s. Larry Bello, the DM, left GCC in 85 and moved the FL and lives there today. His successor, Bob Klaas went back to eastern PA when the company downsized in the early 90s.
The concession stand was nearly as bad as the original Westgate Cinema City or even Randall Park Cinema. Poorly designed. Some other names from Southgate’s past are Vic Gattuso and Lenny Mays.
I remember seeing a matinee of the re-release of Walt Disney’s “That Darn Cat!” in Cinema II (?) on November 23, 1973, the day after Thanksgiving. I don’t believe they called it Black Friday then.
February 19th, 1964 ad is at View link
Love the name reminiscences from the past, Lenny Mays, Vic Gattuso, Larry Bello, Bob Klass, Ed Dineen, this is vintage GCC History. Whenever there was a Regional Meeting, those guys were there!