The Metropolitan Theatre launched in Cincinnati’s West End on December 7, 1915. The theatre also housed businesses including a Jewish bakery and deli. The neighborhood was evolving and the theatre held on to silent films before hosting live events including wrestling in the early 1930s.
Eventually, the theater converted to sound and became the State Theater catering to an African American audience. Other theaters competing in that space included the Roosevelt, the Regal, the Dixie, the Pekin, and the Lincoln Theatre.
While the State Theatre primarily played motion pictures it also hosted some high profile live acts including Louis Armstrong, Dinah Washington and a week by Duke Ellington. Boxer Archie Moore also made an appearances as did local favorite band Otis Williams and The Charms. The West End was vibrant and the theatre active.
But the fun was ending as the city decided to drive urban redevelopment directly through the heart of the West End. Interstate projects and convention centers were designed which decimated the African American business and nightlife areas. The Pekin Theatre was razed first followed by the Lincoln Theatre and the Roosevelt for the highway projects that would be Interstates 71 and 75. The proposed Cincinnati Convention Center project took out the Dixie Theatre in 1964. But the State Theater survived along with the Regal.
In the 1960s, the State primarily played sub-run double feature motion pictures but did have some live acts which included The O'Jays in 1968. In 1967, the venue went with a name change becoming the State Cinema. It would find new business in the 1970s during the Blaxploitation period playing films including “Blacula.”
The operator of the Regal, Gary Goldman, took on the venue returning it to the State Theater moniker. But urban renewal in 1983 caused traffic routing issues for patrons and relocated its clientele. The State Theater’s run ended on August 28, 1983 with the film, “Let’s Do It.” In 1985, Frank Allison made one last run with the historic venue. He relaunched it in October of 1985 as Allison’s West End Theatre starting with live music and converting to motion pictures in March of 1986. The theatre went out of business in 1989 and was offered at a Sheriff’s Sale later that year.
The Lighthouse Worship Center took on the property. in 1990 and helped it to reach its 100th anniversary in 2015. But in 2018, the theatre was targeted for demolition in favor of the West End Stadium to house the local professional soccer team. The last services were held in the historic Rapp & Rapp designed venue on December 9, 2018 – 103 years and two days after the very first film played there.
The Dolly Varden Theatre was designed by Cincinnati architects Robertson & Fahnestock. It appears to have replaced a smaller nickelodeon also called the Dolly Varden. The Dolly Varden opened in 1913. It didn’t convert to sound and was offered for sale in a classified ad in February of 1928 which times out with a 15-year lease.
The Rosedale Opera House opened with a live performance of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on November 13, 1888.At the end of its ten-year lease, new operators changed its name to the Rosedale Theatre in December of 1898. It operated on the second floor of the Rosedale Block building.
The new Orpheum Theatre launched March 16, 1914 on West King Street. It took a toll on the aging Rosedale. But when the Orpheum burned on May 23, 1920, it gave the Rosedale Theatre new life. The theatre was remodeled and moved to the ground floor due to city restrictions. It launched on February 4th, 1921 on the ground floor likely on a 20-year lease and would convert to sound.
At the end of its second 20-year lease, it closed in 1961. Although regular film screenings ended on July 14, 1956, the theatre continued that year with live performances and events. The Rosedale’s final performance was a live play of “The Pajama Game” on May 25, 1961. It was demolished a month later in 1961 for a parking lot.
The Car-Breeze Drive-In launched April 30, 1953 with “Babes in Bagdad.” The theatre was located between Carlyle and Beckemeyer and Breese getting the name the Car-Breeze. In 1955, the theatre had a gala re-grand opening when the theatre converted to widescreen playing the CinemaScope “Chief Crazy Horse” on Easter Sunday.
In 1968, the venue would become the Carlyle Lake Drive-In. In 1976, the Carlyle Lake Drive-In ran into both labor issues and local indecency claims – the latter for showing R rated movies without blocking views to U.S. Highway 50. It appears to have closed at the end of the season. The Open Air Flea Market at the Carlyle Lake Drive-In, however, did use the facility for each of the next four seasons.
When J.W. Thompson closed the Strand Theatre in nearby Pochahontas for a remodel, he launched his Air-Park Auto Theatre in 1947 near the Highland Airport. The concept was that you could fly in or drive-in. When the venue had its seasonal opening in 1950, it changed its name to the Highland Airpark Drive-In Theatre. In 1954, the theatre was simply called the Air-Park Drive-In Theatre. It closed after the 1955 season and does not appear to have reopened.
The Avon Drive-In launched Aril 30, 1953 with space for 400 cars. It opened with “The Duel at Silver Creek” and “Outpost in Malaya.” It closed October 6, 1996 with “Kingpin.”
Groundbreaking ceremonies for the Jerry Lewis Cinema were held on July 8, 1970. After a dedication on January 26, 1971, the new cinema launched to the public the next night on January 27, 1971 with “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.”
Jack F. Goldman operated the Regal from 1937 until his death in 1967 along with other major African American theaters in the city including the Roosevelt , Lincoln and Beecher. The theatre closed in his honor on February 23, 1967.
The Regal hit its stride in the mid 1950s with major acts appearing live including Lionel Hampton, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington and The Ink Spots. It was then run by his son, Bert Goldberg. He was followed by Gary Goldman who refurbished the aged facility relaunching it as the Regal Cinema on February 27, 1970 with “A Long Ride From Hell” and “Sweet Body of Deborah.”
The Regal found its audience in the 1970s with Blaxploitation and Chop Socky films. But as the multiplexes and home video started to take their toll, Goldman had one more trick up his sleeve. The theatre underwent a $130,000 renovation in October 1991 an re-emerged as a triplex with the balcony cut into halves for screens II and III under the name, the Regal Cinema I-II-III. It closed under that name on January 3, 1994 with “Beverly Hillbillies,” “Robocop 3,” and “Jurrassic Park” sharing a screen with “Ernest Goes to Camp.”
The theatre was sold in 1996 with a plan that would have returned the Regal to a single-screened live theater. That plan did not materialize.
The Brattleboro Jerry Lewis Cinema franchised location was announced in March of 1971 as part of what would be called Fairfield Plaza shopping center anchored by a Grand Union store and a Giant store. The architect for the project was Zane Yost of Yost Architects. The groundbreaking was on November 10, 1972.
This Jerry Lewis Cinema launched the automated 350-seat theater on June 22, 1973 with a preview screening of “Brother Sun, Sister Moon.” The grand opening to the public was with the same film a day later. However, in the two years it took to launch, the Lewis Cinema concept had already filed for bankruptcy earlier in 1973 and was in free fall. Four months later on October 24, 1973, the operators changed the venue’s name to 1st Cinema (aka First Cinema) with “Night Witch.”
Under new management in 1995, the theater had a renaming contest. Kipling Cinema was chosen within the 50 entries in honor of former resident, author Rudyard Kipling. It relaunched under that name after renovating to the three screens on Nov. 6, 1995 with “Enchanted April,” “The Fugitive,” and “Pochahontas.” Another expansion the next year brought the screen count to six.
Spinelli Cinema circuit took on the location on December 12, 1998. It was closed forty years after its launch by its final operator, the Boston Culinary Group on March 24, 2011 which likely was the end of a leasing period. It was demolished two years later and replaced by an Aldi grocery store.
Stewart & Stewart were the architects of the new-build Madison Theatre which was built in 1922/3. The theater was said to have had a June 1, 1923 opening. It went out of business on January 27, 1952 likely at the end of a 30 year leasing agreement with “Tanks are Coming” and “Let’s Make it Legal.”
The Empire launched as a motion picture theatre on March 18, 1911 in the existing Collins Building which had recently housed a plumbing and heating store. It closed and was gutted for a refresh on May 15, 1919. It relaunched as the Sigma in 1920.
The Victoria Theater launched in 1910 catering to an African American audience. The Victoria likely brokered a 20-year lease closing as a silent theater. The Victoria joined the Pekin Theater, the Roosevelt and the Lincoln Theater in the West End as the city’s most popular African American movie houses.
The Dixie Theater Circuit took on the location – along with two other area theater locations – equipping the theater for sound and changing the Victoria’s name to the Dixie. This leasing cycle which was likely 30 years. The Pekin, Roosevelt, and the Lincoln would be targeted as the old west end of Cincinnati was largely obliterated by the construction of the massive interchange of Interstate Highways 71 and 75. That fundamentally wiped out a core of African American nightlife and retail history.
The Dixie, however, soldiered on with its next operator as the Associated Theatres of Cincinnati. In 1962, a rumor that a proposed Convention Center would decimate the African American retail block – including the taking out the 50-year old Dixie Theater – gained traction. By 1964, it had become reality and the block along with the Dixie would be razed.
In 1968, the city’s Convention Center opened and was still there under a new name in the 2020s.
According to the local paper, the Lubin Theatre took over a clothing retailer’s location and carved out the Lubin Theatre location and opening in January of 1909 on a 15 year lease. That lease was renewed until 1930.
The RKO International-70 Theater closed at a whopping seat count of 3,037 on April 27, 1976 with the film, “Sparkle.” The RKO International signage was removed in a $1 million makeover in 1978. It reopened as a live venue with an October 23, 1978 concert with Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald. The last show at the Palace Theater was the Cincinnati Ballet Company’s “Jubilee” on March 7, 1982 after efforts to save the theatre fell short. It was demolished that December in favor of the new Cincinnati Center Building.
The Avenue Theatre opened in January of 1920 and closed on June 18, 1949 likely at the end of a 30-year lease with a burlesque show paired with the exploitation film, “I Hate Coppers.” The theatre was first turned into a furniture store. It then was used as a warehouse for a office supplies retailer.
(Despite what sources say) The Americus Theater was demolished in 1961 – not in the early 1950s or 1950. That also times out with 50 years of leasing cycles which seems about right for the new-build theater.
All 700 seats were sold in a salvage sale early in 1961 along with the air conditioning unit and a variety of other items. The final films shown was a double-feature of “Kansas Pacific” and “Too Many Girls” on June 28, 1953. Also, the theatre was used as the site of revival shows and sermons by the Evangelistic Temple in 1956 to July of 1960.
The Metropolitan Theatre launched in Cincinnati’s West End on December 7, 1915. The theatre also housed businesses including a Jewish bakery and deli. The neighborhood was evolving and the theatre held on to silent films before hosting live events including wrestling in the early 1930s.
Eventually, the theater converted to sound and became the State Theater catering to an African American audience. Other theaters competing in that space included the Roosevelt, the Regal, the Dixie, the Pekin, and the Lincoln Theatre.
While the State Theatre primarily played motion pictures it also hosted some high profile live acts including Louis Armstrong, Dinah Washington and a week by Duke Ellington. Boxer Archie Moore also made an appearances as did local favorite band Otis Williams and The Charms. The West End was vibrant and the theatre active.
But the fun was ending as the city decided to drive urban redevelopment directly through the heart of the West End. Interstate projects and convention centers were designed which decimated the African American business and nightlife areas. The Pekin Theatre was razed first followed by the Lincoln Theatre and the Roosevelt for the highway projects that would be Interstates 71 and 75. The proposed Cincinnati Convention Center project took out the Dixie Theatre in 1964. But the State Theater survived along with the Regal.
In the 1960s, the State primarily played sub-run double feature motion pictures but did have some live acts which included The O'Jays in 1968. In 1967, the venue went with a name change becoming the State Cinema. It would find new business in the 1970s during the Blaxploitation period playing films including “Blacula.”
The operator of the Regal, Gary Goldman, took on the venue returning it to the State Theater moniker. But urban renewal in 1983 caused traffic routing issues for patrons and relocated its clientele. The State Theater’s run ended on August 28, 1983 with the film, “Let’s Do It.” In 1985, Frank Allison made one last run with the historic venue. He relaunched it in October of 1985 as Allison’s West End Theatre starting with live music and converting to motion pictures in March of 1986. The theatre went out of business in 1989 and was offered at a Sheriff’s Sale later that year.
The Lighthouse Worship Center took on the property. in 1990 and helped it to reach its 100th anniversary in 2015. But in 2018, the theatre was targeted for demolition in favor of the West End Stadium to house the local professional soccer team. The last services were held in the historic Rapp & Rapp designed venue on December 9, 2018 – 103 years and two days after the very first film played there.
George H. Godley architectural sketch of the building which opened in September of 1947 in photos. The building replaced an older State Theater.
The Dolly Varden Theatre was designed by Cincinnati architects Robertson & Fahnestock. It appears to have replaced a smaller nickelodeon also called the Dolly Varden. The Dolly Varden opened in 1913. It didn’t convert to sound and was offered for sale in a classified ad in February of 1928 which times out with a 15-year lease.
The Mid-Valley Drive-In Theatre launched May 20, 1950 with “Silver River.”
Launched September 10, 1949 with “Ali Baba & the Forty Thieves.”
The Ideal Drive-In Theatre launched September 18, 1948 with the film, “Come and Get It.”
Dominic Firsina adds the Grand Theatre to his portfolio and upgrades it as the Ritz Theatre on April 14, 1941 with “Cheers for Miss Bishop.”
The Rosedale Opera House opened with a live performance of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on November 13, 1888.At the end of its ten-year lease, new operators changed its name to the Rosedale Theatre in December of 1898. It operated on the second floor of the Rosedale Block building.
The new Orpheum Theatre launched March 16, 1914 on West King Street. It took a toll on the aging Rosedale. But when the Orpheum burned on May 23, 1920, it gave the Rosedale Theatre new life. The theatre was remodeled and moved to the ground floor due to city restrictions. It launched on February 4th, 1921 on the ground floor likely on a 20-year lease and would convert to sound.
At the end of its second 20-year lease, it closed in 1961. Although regular film screenings ended on July 14, 1956, the theatre continued that year with live performances and events. The Rosedale’s final performance was a live play of “The Pajama Game” on May 25, 1961. It was demolished a month later in 1961 for a parking lot.
The State had a brief rebirth as the C.V. Theatre launching here on May 12, 1955 with “Tonight’s the Night”
When it converted to two screens, it was also known as the Lory Cinema. Under the present operators, it reverted to the Lory Theatre.
The Car-Breeze Drive-In launched April 30, 1953 with “Babes in Bagdad.” The theatre was located between Carlyle and Beckemeyer and Breese getting the name the Car-Breeze. In 1955, the theatre had a gala re-grand opening when the theatre converted to widescreen playing the CinemaScope “Chief Crazy Horse” on Easter Sunday.
In 1968, the venue would become the Carlyle Lake Drive-In. In 1976, the Carlyle Lake Drive-In ran into both labor issues and local indecency claims – the latter for showing R rated movies without blocking views to U.S. Highway 50. It appears to have closed at the end of the season. The Open Air Flea Market at the Carlyle Lake Drive-In, however, did use the facility for each of the next four seasons.
When J.W. Thompson closed the Strand Theatre in nearby Pochahontas for a remodel, he launched his Air-Park Auto Theatre in 1947 near the Highland Airport. The concept was that you could fly in or drive-in. When the venue had its seasonal opening in 1950, it changed its name to the Highland Airpark Drive-In Theatre. In 1954, the theatre was simply called the Air-Park Drive-In Theatre. It closed after the 1955 season and does not appear to have reopened.
The relaunch of the Grand as the Avon Theatre was commemorated on August 8, 1941 with “The Shepherd of the Hills.”
The Avon Drive-In launched Aril 30, 1953 with space for 400 cars. It opened with “The Duel at Silver Creek” and “Outpost in Malaya.” It closed October 6, 1996 with “Kingpin.”
Groundbreaking ceremonies for the Jerry Lewis Cinema were held on July 8, 1970. After a dedication on January 26, 1971, the new cinema launched to the public the next night on January 27, 1971 with “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.”
Jack F. Goldman operated the Regal from 1937 until his death in 1967 along with other major African American theaters in the city including the Roosevelt , Lincoln and Beecher. The theatre closed in his honor on February 23, 1967.
The Regal hit its stride in the mid 1950s with major acts appearing live including Lionel Hampton, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington and The Ink Spots. It was then run by his son, Bert Goldberg. He was followed by Gary Goldman who refurbished the aged facility relaunching it as the Regal Cinema on February 27, 1970 with “A Long Ride From Hell” and “Sweet Body of Deborah.”
The Regal found its audience in the 1970s with Blaxploitation and Chop Socky films. But as the multiplexes and home video started to take their toll, Goldman had one more trick up his sleeve. The theatre underwent a $130,000 renovation in October 1991 an re-emerged as a triplex with the balcony cut into halves for screens II and III under the name, the Regal Cinema I-II-III. It closed under that name on January 3, 1994 with “Beverly Hillbillies,” “Robocop 3,” and “Jurrassic Park” sharing a screen with “Ernest Goes to Camp.”
The theatre was sold in 1996 with a plan that would have returned the Regal to a single-screened live theater. That plan did not materialize.
The Brattleboro Jerry Lewis Cinema franchised location was announced in March of 1971 as part of what would be called Fairfield Plaza shopping center anchored by a Grand Union store and a Giant store. The architect for the project was Zane Yost of Yost Architects. The groundbreaking was on November 10, 1972.
This Jerry Lewis Cinema launched the automated 350-seat theater on June 22, 1973 with a preview screening of “Brother Sun, Sister Moon.” The grand opening to the public was with the same film a day later. However, in the two years it took to launch, the Lewis Cinema concept had already filed for bankruptcy earlier in 1973 and was in free fall. Four months later on October 24, 1973, the operators changed the venue’s name to 1st Cinema (aka First Cinema) with “Night Witch.”
Under new management in 1995, the theater had a renaming contest. Kipling Cinema was chosen within the 50 entries in honor of former resident, author Rudyard Kipling. It relaunched under that name after renovating to the three screens on Nov. 6, 1995 with “Enchanted April,” “The Fugitive,” and “Pochahontas.” Another expansion the next year brought the screen count to six.
Spinelli Cinema circuit took on the location on December 12, 1998. It was closed forty years after its launch by its final operator, the Boston Culinary Group on March 24, 2011 which likely was the end of a leasing period. It was demolished two years later and replaced by an Aldi grocery store.
Stewart & Stewart were the architects of the new-build Madison Theatre which was built in 1922/3. The theater was said to have had a June 1, 1923 opening. It went out of business on January 27, 1952 likely at the end of a 30 year leasing agreement with “Tanks are Coming” and “Let’s Make it Legal.”
The Empire launched as a motion picture theatre on March 18, 1911 in the existing Collins Building which had recently housed a plumbing and heating store. It closed and was gutted for a refresh on May 15, 1919. It relaunched as the Sigma in 1920.
The Victoria Theater launched in 1910 catering to an African American audience. The Victoria likely brokered a 20-year lease closing as a silent theater. The Victoria joined the Pekin Theater, the Roosevelt and the Lincoln Theater in the West End as the city’s most popular African American movie houses.
The Dixie Theater Circuit took on the location – along with two other area theater locations – equipping the theater for sound and changing the Victoria’s name to the Dixie. This leasing cycle which was likely 30 years. The Pekin, Roosevelt, and the Lincoln would be targeted as the old west end of Cincinnati was largely obliterated by the construction of the massive interchange of Interstate Highways 71 and 75. That fundamentally wiped out a core of African American nightlife and retail history.
The Dixie, however, soldiered on with its next operator as the Associated Theatres of Cincinnati. In 1962, a rumor that a proposed Convention Center would decimate the African American retail block – including the taking out the 50-year old Dixie Theater – gained traction. By 1964, it had become reality and the block along with the Dixie would be razed.
In 1968, the city’s Convention Center opened and was still there under a new name in the 2020s.
According to the local paper, the Lubin Theatre took over a clothing retailer’s location and carved out the Lubin Theatre location and opening in January of 1909 on a 15 year lease. That lease was renewed until 1930.
The RKO International-70 Theater closed at a whopping seat count of 3,037 on April 27, 1976 with the film, “Sparkle.” The RKO International signage was removed in a $1 million makeover in 1978. It reopened as a live venue with an October 23, 1978 concert with Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald. The last show at the Palace Theater was the Cincinnati Ballet Company’s “Jubilee” on March 7, 1982 after efforts to save the theatre fell short. It was demolished that December in favor of the new Cincinnati Center Building.
The Avenue Theatre opened in January of 1920 and closed on June 18, 1949 likely at the end of a 30-year lease with a burlesque show paired with the exploitation film, “I Hate Coppers.” The theatre was first turned into a furniture store. It then was used as a warehouse for a office supplies retailer.
(Despite what sources say) The Americus Theater was demolished in 1961 – not in the early 1950s or 1950. That also times out with 50 years of leasing cycles which seems about right for the new-build theater.
All 700 seats were sold in a salvage sale early in 1961 along with the air conditioning unit and a variety of other items. The final films shown was a double-feature of “Kansas Pacific” and “Too Many Girls” on June 28, 1953. Also, the theatre was used as the site of revival shows and sermons by the Evangelistic Temple in 1956 to July of 1960.
Opened with a live play, “The Passing Show,” on Sept. 25, 1921.