Moreland Theater

11820 Buckeye Road,
Cleveland, OH 44120

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Additional Info

Architects: Sigmund Braverman, Kurt Havermaet

Firms: Braverman & Havermaet

Functions: Church

Styles: Renaissance Revival

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Moreland Theater

The Moreland Theater building was opened January 12, 1928, and used initially for Vaudeville performances and a movie theater. It included a small orchestra pit, a shallow stage with a fly loft and dressing rooms in the rear. The building also housed tenant space on its second floor and along the front facade.

The theater is located in Cleveland’s Buckeye neighborhood at East 119th Street and Buckeye Road, which, for a time in the first half of the 20th century, was boasted the largest population of Hungarian immigrants in the United States.

Contributed by Jennifer Coleman

Recent comments (view all 6 comments)

rivest266
rivest266 on March 13, 2011 at 9:52 am

January 12th, 1928 grand opening ad is at View link

CSWalczak
CSWalczak on June 24, 2012 at 12:06 pm

I have not been able to locate much about the Waldorf; it was either gone or closed when I grew up in Cleveland in he 1950s. The Rivest list says it closed in 1947 and had 845 seats. I will add it and see if it brings forth any other information.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on October 31, 2012 at 10:30 pm

The Moreland Theatre was located at 11820 Buckeye Road, and as of 2009, when the Google camera car photographed it, the building was occupied by the Church of God in Christ. It was still easily recognizable as a former theater, despite the loss of its marquee. The building is still standing in the 2012 satellite view, though its roof looks to be in rough shape.

The NRHP nomination form for the Moreland Theatre says that the house closed in 1962, and later operated as a live dinner theater and then as a night club before finally becoming a church. It gives the interior style as “mostly Baroque” (Renaissance should be close enough.)

The form also lists four other theaters designed by Sigmund Braverman and Kurt Havermaet: the Hilliard Square (now the Lakewood) in Lakewood (already attributed at Cinema Treasures), the Pastime at Coshocton, the Falls at Cuyahoga Falls, and the Allen (later the Astor) at Akron.

The nomination form, which gives a detailed description and history of the house, plus three floor plans of the building, can be viewed at Google Documents, and can be downloaded as a PDF file from this link.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on October 31, 2012 at 10:35 pm

My link to the PDF file got broken. Here is a corrected link.

rivest266
rivest266 on January 19, 2014 at 8:23 am

Moreland grand opening ad from January 12th, 1928 is in the photo section.

Matt Lambros
Matt Lambros on February 23, 2016 at 6:32 am

I recently photographed the Moreland Theatre. For a brief write up and some pictures visit After the Final Curtain

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