Paris Art Theatre
3153 W. 25th Street,
Cleveland,
OH
44109
3153 W. 25th Street,
Cleveland,
OH
44109
2 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Ohio Amusement Co.
Previous Names: Southern Theatre, Paris Arts Theatre Picture Show
Nearby Theaters
Originally called the Southern Theatre, it opened in 1918, showing westerns and comedies. It was operated by the Ohio Amusement Co. by 1929.
It was renamed the Paris Arts Theatre Picture Show about 1967, when it began showing X-rated movies. The name was shortened later to the Paris Art Theatre. It closed in the late-1990’s.
Contributed by
dave-bronx
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
The seating capacity of the Southern Theatre is given as 700 in the 1941 edition of Film Daily Yearbook.
The local group that now owned it after it closed was trying to find funding to make it into a community center. I haven’t been back in town in a long time, so I don’t know what the current status is.
This theatre building is still vacant and boarded up…apparently the Clark-Metro community group wanted to fix up the building in hopes of showing general-audience films there again, as well as hold other community gatherings, but nothing has happened in the past few years.
There are some contemporary photos on this page:
http://tinyurl.com/yce66rr
Does not look to contemporary now ken mc.Art for Arts sake.
I was a patron from the beaver loops of the late 60’s to the porn of the early 70’s through the 90’s. It turned into a gay hook up spot in its later years, but for some of us, it was more than that. It was the sexual revolution projected on the big screen. Things we never imagined we’d see in a theatre. Nowadays, porn sites are just a click away. But back in the day, you would have to drive for miles to get the same kick. RIP Paris Art Theatre.
Hello,
I am working on a project to document the history of the adult theatre in the US. If anyone has any memories of this theatre (especially if you worked there) please contact me at
Thanks!
It’s an empty lot now. Change status to demolished.
From a commenter on Facebook in a discussion about the Parma Theater: “Parma was a ‘baby’ when I went to those movies. The Southern which is a porn place now was a great movie house! They had farm night on Fridays. They would break between movies and give away animals, chickens, ducks, goats, roosters, eggs, and vegetables. It was such fun to watch! This was in the 40’s. Mom and Dad took me.” 7/8/13