RKO 105th Street Theatre
10502 Euclid Avenue,
Cleveland,
OH
44106
10502 Euclid Avenue,
Cleveland,
OH
44106
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The Keith’s East 105th Theatre was another uptown theatre that had done well up until the mid-1960’s, when it closed.
The theatre remained vacant for many years afterward until it was torn down in 1982 to make way for the William O. Walker Center.
Contributed by
Toby Radloff
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Recent comments (view all 13 comments)
The B.F. Keith’s 105th St. Theatre opened on 24th November 1924 with Mr E. F. Albee head of the Keith circuit in attendance. It had a capacity of 3,000 seats on two floors with a row of boxes arranged in a horse-shoe fashion at what would have been a mezanine level.
In its last years of operation it went over to screening adult porn films before final closure and demolition in 1982.
An Austin organ Opus 1025 Size 3/18 was installed in Keith’s 105th Street Theater in 1921 at a cost of $18,350.
The architect for this theatre should be Rapp & Rapp, per records in the Theatre Society of America. The horseshoe boxes were a feature of many of the big Rapp & Rapp theatres. Thomas Lamb was the architect for Loew’s Park, a block down at 103rd and Euclid. It was similar in size and was built around the same time (1922).
The following source backs up Fred:
The building of six theatres is in contemplation in Cleveland An office building and theatre on Euclid avenue and East Seventeenth street for J Laronge Company will cost about $2.500 000 DR Hanna is having plans prepared by CA Platt New York for a $750000 theatre on East Fourteenth street and Prospect avenue Hoffman Brothers have bought a site at 10210 Euclid avenue and will erect a four story theatre costing about $250,000 Rapp & Rapp Chicago are preparing plans for a five story theatre at East 105th street and Euclid avenue for the Pauled Realty Company to cost about $400.000 CH Crane and EG Kiehler Detroit are preparing plans for a $1.000 000 office building and theatre on Euclid avenue for the Allen Theatre enterprises Stone; an Illustrated Magazine
1979 photo of the RKO 105th Theatre. Really sad photo
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1948 photo of the RKO 105th Theatre.
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Here is a 1929 ad for the Keith’s 105th.
In the summer of 1972 or 1973 I helped remove the projectors and pedestals from the pidgeon infested booth of the theater (while the Live Show/Porn was running on a small stage and screen in the lobby area). The pedestals which were Heavy Duty Simplex models, ended up in the booth at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Gaertner Auditorium, prior to the recent remodeling. It was 10 flights up to the booth and about a 30 degree down slant to the screen.
Cool Old 1948 Photo.
Winston Willis gave myself and several friends a quick tour when he had it. The auditorium had lots of restaurant and business equipment in storage from a used fixture business he ran. Very little of the lighting worked and some of the stairways were nearly filled with inventory as well. He was and is a very interesting person who was truly wronged by the big shots of the era.