Nothing to be sorry about, Charles. It was not until quite recently that I was certain where the West Park Theater was located. It’s confusing because of address changes through the years.
There is similarity in the building in the Google image and the West Park Theater, but I humbly insist they are not the same building. The building in the photo is the Alber Building, built by John Alber, and was not home to a movie theater. The West Park Theater stood several doors east of the Alber Building. It later became an Ohio State Unemployment Office. You are right, the Riverside Theater was demolished for a Walgreens Pharmacy. However, at the same time, the former West Park Theater was also demolished. The site of the West Park
is now the driveway and drive-thru immediately west of of the pharmacy.
When this website was updated, somehow the link I posted was deleted. The Google photo shown is NOT the West Park Theater, which was demolished in about 1993 to make room for a Walgreen Pharmacy. The link for photos and information about the West Park Theater is here http://westparkhistory.com/thennow/gone/gone.htm#WPmovie
The theater at Kamm’s Corner, at the “L” in the Kamm’s Plaza Shopping Center was the World West Theater.
I’ve just added a 1987 photo. This is the Fox Theater at 309 Main Street, Hackensack, NJ, right? Can someone who knows the theater confirm?
shradilek – What was your great-grandfather’s name? Urbansky? Did your great-grandfather build any other theaters in the Cleveland area?
Nothing to be sorry about, Charles. It was not until quite recently that I was certain where the West Park Theater was located. It’s confusing because of address changes through the years.
There is similarity in the building in the Google image and the West Park Theater, but I humbly insist they are not the same building. The building in the photo is the Alber Building, built by John Alber, and was not home to a movie theater. The West Park Theater stood several doors east of the Alber Building. It later became an Ohio State Unemployment Office. You are right, the Riverside Theater was demolished for a Walgreens Pharmacy. However, at the same time, the former West Park Theater was also demolished. The site of the West Park is now the driveway and drive-thru immediately west of of the pharmacy.
When this website was updated, somehow the link I posted was deleted. The Google photo shown is NOT the West Park Theater, which was demolished in about 1993 to make room for a Walgreen Pharmacy. The link for photos and information about the West Park Theater is here http://westparkhistory.com/thennow/gone/gone.htm#WPmovie
No problem, Lost Memory. I wanted to be certain to get James L. Smith’s name credited.
The photo “Lost Memory” has posted comes from our website, westparkhistory.com, where it was posted courtesy of James L. Smith.
You can see another old photo of the Riverside Theater on our site and read a bit about it.
Gary
westparkhistory.com
You can see a photo of the World West Theater at westparkhistory.com
An article on the history of the Variety Theater, including now-and-then photos, can be found at westparkhistory.com
A photo of The Lyric on Lorain Avenue in Cleveland is posted, along with some information on the theatre, at westparkhistory.com