Akron Civic Theatre
182 S. Main Street,
Akron,
OH
44308
182 S. Main Street,
Akron,
OH
44308
21 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 78 comments
Life’s too short: Yesn and long time no see on CT!
Is it correct to state that the lobby of this building travels over a river bed?
tisloews: I agree!
From the pictures it looks like they redid the old Loews vertical for the civic or at least used the same design, in the new sign.Also the same for the marquee.
I was able to spend the day in Akron today, afterall, and my visit included an unscheduled tour of this Eberson atmospheric theatre by Mr. Howard Parr, Executive Directior….thank you as it is always a thrill to see one of Mr. Eberson’s atmospheric theatres!
My tour has been postponed, not the tour..in general as they have monthly tours.
The tour has been postponed until next spring, but I did receive in the mail today a lovely booklet that was offered in 2002 when the theatre re-opened after a massive restoration project. It is free by just calling the box office number that is given on their website.
November 10th is the tour date this month which starts at noon and they are free to the public each month.
I hope to tour this theatre this week!
There is a brand-new CD recording of the Akron Civic’s Mighty WurliTzer by a leading practitioner of the art, Jelani Eddington… I am listening to it as I type :)
Songs range from Leroy Anderson arrangements to “Totally Devoted To You” from Grease to Aaron Copland’s “Hoe-Down”, a fantastic recording!
rjeproductions.com is the place to get it online.
http://theatreorgans.com/au/opus/
This site provided some Wurlitzer/Akron Civic information. And I did locate the ED’s email address so have sent Mr. Parr a notice of my wanting a tour of the Akron Civic and its atmospheric charm!
Lost: You read my mind! LOL! I will call the box office on Monday as they don’t seem to provide an email address.
“Of the three Eberson theatres surviving in Ohio, this is by far the largest and most elaborate.” I have seen the Palace in Canton, Ohio but not the one in Marion, Ohio so will be anxious to see this atmospheric and its “stars”!
I wonder why the name Loew’s wasn’t kept along with the marquee?
I’ll be returning from Hershey on October 11…darn!
Can anyone give more information about this theatre’s Mighty Wurlitzer?
I will be traveling to the Akron OH area on October 14th so will check out this theatre and report back!
The marquee says MARTIN SCORSESE’S SHINE A [something hidden]. Does this mean that the theatre still shows movies occasionally?
Thanks for the photo Lost Memory. I realize the site restrictions caused it to be so narrow, but it’s still hard to believe that behind that entrance is a 2600 seat theatre! Perhaps patrons exited at a different location. If not, it’s really hard to imagine how that many people could enter and exit through such a small passageway. I would think this must have impacted the length of time between shows back during its busy days as a movie house.
I didn’t get to Akron this summer to see this atmospheric, but hopefully next June when the Broadway musical, Jersey Boys comes to the Cleveland area.
And that marquee used to read LOEW’S.
Lost Memory: Nice photo of the marquee and surrounding area. I never made a trip to Akron, but hope to in ‘08.
We enjoyed two fine shows at Loew’s Akron during 2007 — coming from Virginia to visit this historic venue. The second ahow was CARMEN and we were pleased to see such a grand production and pay a low price.
New Yorkers, who truly do believe that civilization does not exist west of the Hudson, ought to see this theatre. It is so much like Loew’s Paradise — which NY people fondly remember but few visit since it’s 2006 reopening. One difference is that the Paradise is in the still dangerous Bronx and going there is a true risk. In comparison, the AKRON venue is obviously in a low crime city. After all, downtown Akron is crawling with police and jaywalking is a crime I would not care to risk there.
Prices at Loew’s AKRON in 2007 are startlingly low: $20 to $30.
i am sure the civic theater is a wonderful venue. but, good grief, i remember loews as being a much bigger theater in the 1940s & 50s.of course, i was a young kid then so i’m sure that colored my perspective. it was in the middle of main street which was thriving. today, the neighborhood looks somewhat seedy. i realize that looks can be deceiving, and a lot of changes can transpire in a half century. and maybe downtown wasn’t quite as bustling as i remember it. but i think there was a very nice restaurant on the other side of main street, not too far from loews, called the garden grill. there was also a lovely restaurant not too far from the colonial theater, that
offered complimentary sweet rolls and parker rolls with lunch and dinner. i think it was called kazee’s (phonetic spelling)
i grew up in akron during the 40s and early 50s, before our family moved to n.j. the highland theater was where we went to the saturday matinees for kids…we were regulars at the downtown first run movies, strand, palace, colonial and loew’s, which was dotted with tiny stars in its high ceiling and which featured mgm films….the highlight of going to loew’s was the organist, wild oscar, who provided entertainment between movies…he would rise from the bowels of the theater on a lighted platform and speak into a microphone….a couple of second run theaters were also among my favorites…slightly seedy, but featuring lots of good double bills…the forum and the orpheum….great place to grow up.