Roselawn Theatre
7602 Reading Road,
Cincinnati,
OH
45237
7602 Reading Road,
Cincinnati,
OH
45237
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The Roselawn theatre opened on November 15th, 1940, with “Young People” and a WSAI broadcast. Small grand opening ad posted.
At some point, this building had served as a synagogue, with Hebrew text carved into its current facade. A banner hanging in front proclaims a business called “Truth Bar & Grill” Coming Soon, and looking it up shows documents drawn up in 2020, so it could be delayed by Covid or the venture aborted.
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The June 29, 1940, issue of Boxoffice said “Maurice Chase will open his new house at Roselawn, Cincy suburb, June 30. It seats 500.” The July 27, 1940, issue of Boxoffice said that Altec sound equipment had been installed at “…Maurice Chase’s Roselawn, suburban Cincinnati house recently opened.” The building was owned by the Harris Brothers, operators of the downtown State Theatre, but was to be operated by Chase under a lease.
The November 16, 1940, issue of Boxoffice said that Louis Wiethe had purchased the twenty-year lease on the Roselawn from Chase. The October 1, 1942, issue said that Louis Wiethe had reopened the Roselawn, which he had closed the previous year.
The Roselawn apparently then remained open until Wiethe opened his much larger Valley Theatre at Roselawn in 1949. Then the Roselawn was closed again for several months, but the November 26 issue of Boxoffice said Wiethe had reopened it as an art house on the 23rd. After that I can’t find any references to it in Boxoffice, so I don’t know how long it survived as an art theater.