I remember going to the shaker theatre back in the 1960’s and early 70’s. Everyone called it the “shaker show” back then. I remember the laughing and sad masks that lined the theatre walls, the Pink Panther cartoons, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid and the theatre popped, drenched with hot butter popcorn by the bucket. Oh, I can’t forget the snowcaps too. A good time and memories. The Shaker theatre building was demolished and remained an empty lot for a number of years until Blaushields Chevrolet built it’s new showroom in the style of an old train station on the corner of Chagrin Blvd and Lee Road. The Shaker theatre itself faced East and was located on the West side of Lee Road approximately 150 feet from the Southwest corner of Lee Road and Chagrin Blvd. I grew up two streets away from the theatre and rode my bicycle around in their lot as a young child countless times. The theatre never went the X-rated route, due to the regulations of the City of Shaker Heights.
I was one of the last people to walk into the Standard theatre back in the early part of the 1990’s on a Friday afternoon. I was with a closed friend who is in the general contracting business and he had to walk through the building to give an estimate to the present land owner. I remember a photographer being inside the building at the time shooting a large format 4x5 camera of the stage area where the screen was previously located. I asked him why he was taking pictures and he said that they had commissioned him to take the pictures for historic documentation and records. I recall the amazing architecture and well worn red seating. There was an old Altec-Lansing voice of the theatre speaker sitting a few feet back from where the screen was located. If the Photographer had not been there with his quartz flood lighting, I would not have seen such detail. The theatre seemed very small but I realized that it opened in the time of silent movies. Even more amazing and upsetting, they started demolition the very next day on Saturday. If I had known that they were going to demolish the theatre, I probably would have stayed much longer. My friend was in a rush that day and I did not get the opportunity to view the projection room. I had visions of seeing old Western Electric 91A equipment with etched based 300A tube treasures! So much for dreams! To this day, the new building that replaced the old theatre has never been occupied.
I remember going to the shaker theatre back in the 1960’s and early 70’s. Everyone called it the “shaker show” back then. I remember the laughing and sad masks that lined the theatre walls, the Pink Panther cartoons, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid and the theatre popped, drenched with hot butter popcorn by the bucket. Oh, I can’t forget the snowcaps too. A good time and memories. The Shaker theatre building was demolished and remained an empty lot for a number of years until Blaushields Chevrolet built it’s new showroom in the style of an old train station on the corner of Chagrin Blvd and Lee Road. The Shaker theatre itself faced East and was located on the West side of Lee Road approximately 150 feet from the Southwest corner of Lee Road and Chagrin Blvd. I grew up two streets away from the theatre and rode my bicycle around in their lot as a young child countless times. The theatre never went the X-rated route, due to the regulations of the City of Shaker Heights.
I was one of the last people to walk into the Standard theatre back in the early part of the 1990’s on a Friday afternoon. I was with a closed friend who is in the general contracting business and he had to walk through the building to give an estimate to the present land owner. I remember a photographer being inside the building at the time shooting a large format 4x5 camera of the stage area where the screen was previously located. I asked him why he was taking pictures and he said that they had commissioned him to take the pictures for historic documentation and records. I recall the amazing architecture and well worn red seating. There was an old Altec-Lansing voice of the theatre speaker sitting a few feet back from where the screen was located. If the Photographer had not been there with his quartz flood lighting, I would not have seen such detail. The theatre seemed very small but I realized that it opened in the time of silent movies. Even more amazing and upsetting, they started demolition the very next day on Saturday. If I had known that they were going to demolish the theatre, I probably would have stayed much longer. My friend was in a rush that day and I did not get the opportunity to view the projection room. I had visions of seeing old Western Electric 91A equipment with etched based 300A tube treasures! So much for dreams! To this day, the new building that replaced the old theatre has never been occupied.