Parma Theatre
5826 Ridge Road,
Parma,
OH
44130
5826 Ridge Road,
Parma,
OH
44130
2 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 28 comments
Too bad about this one. I would have liked to see it when I visit Cleveland. I think this was built by my Great Uncle John Kalafat and his Associated Theaters. I know his sister, my grandmother lived across the street in the brick house that is still there.
James in San Francisco.
The Cleveland Landmarks Commission attributes the design of the Parma Theatre to architect Paul Matzinger of Matzinger & Grosel.
The Parma theatre opened on October 17th, 1936, with “The Gorgeous Hussy”. Grand opening ad posted.
Nice art deco exterior and marquee. Any interior pics?
The CVS is currently under construction, steel framework is already in place.
Just past by the theater and it is nothing but an empty field.
The city has done whatever it has to do to allow a CVS Drug Store to be built on the site of the Parma Theatre.
The Parma residents are ecstatic – after all, no CVS here would mean people would have to continue traveling a half mile north to Walgreens or RiteAid, or 1.5 mi. to the south to visit Walmart, Target or Marc’s – oh! the drudgery!
/sarc
R.I.P.
Parma Theatre
10/17/1936 – 12/09/2014
An article on the demolition in today’s Parma Sun News:
By Maura Zurick, Northeast Ohio Media Group Email the author | Follow on Twitter on December 08, 2014 at 3:09 PM, updated December 08, 2014 at 7:02 PM
PARMA, Ohio — After the dust cleared Monday, piles of brick, glass and metal littered the Ridge Road spot where the Parma Theater stood for 78 years.
The demolition came with no warning, said Mayor Tim DeGeeter, who learned of the wrecking ball from Councilwoman Deborah Lime, who worked with the Friends of the Parma Theater to try to save it.
“This morning’s demolition came as a surprise to us,” DeGeeter said in a statement. “As this is private property, the city has no standing in this. Our concern is making sure that our residents are safe, that the demolition is done properly and in compliance with city laws.”
The theater closed in 2012, and shortly after, a fire started in the lobby causing $750,000 of damage. The blaze was ruled arson by the Ohio Division of State Fire Marshal and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and the case is still open.
The Friends of Parma Theater tried to save the movie theater from the wrecking ball for nearly two years. Lime said she found out about the demolition from Facebook and phone calls.
“There truly will be a huge void and a loss to the area with the theater gone,” she said and thanked the volunteers who tried to save it.
The efforts to save the theater spanned from impractical, including a resident’s plan to buy the theater for $1 and convert it into a cat sanctuary, to fundraising to turn it into a community arts center.
Owner Norman Barr had to fix 20 building code violations or tear the theater down before Dec. 11 court date.
Demolition crews started around 8 a.m. By mid-afternoon the front of the theater was a pile of debris.
“As a resident of Polish Village and Parma I am deeply saddened and dismayed that the owners have chosen to demolish the building,” said Kathy Mabin, a member of the Friends of Parma Theater.
Mabin said Barr gave the Friends an inflated price and unreasonable time limit, only after the theater was the subject of news coverage.
“So now the community will suffer, gone is the history, gone is the hope to reclaim the building and make the space useful, and what is left behind is a gaping hole left by their destruction,” she said.
Parma resident Wayne Mesker, one of the original members of Friends of Parma Theater, came to watch the theater where he saw “Transformers” and “Spider Man” come down.
“It’s a sad day here in Parma,” Mesker said. “It didn’t have to be this way.”
According to local radio news reports, the Parma Theatre was flattened today. They also state that the group that was trying to save it was given no notice that it was coming down today.
There’s an effort to save the theater and create a community arts center. https://www.facebook.com/FriendsOfParmaTheater/info https://www.facebook.com/parmatheater
In the description on the title page for this theatre, I’m not sure that the statement “…the empty building was destroyed by fire…” is entirely accurate. I have heard news reports stating that the fire damage was largely confined to the lobby, with smoke damage throughout the rest of the building, including the two adjoining stores. Other reports that the damage estimate is $750K. In any case, the building is still standing and the roof appears to be intact. As I recall, the lobby had been “redecorated” with wood paneling on the walls, the type you would have put in your finished basement in the 1970s, those thin 4'x8' sheets.
The cause of the fire that severely damaged the closed Parma Theater has been determined to have been arson. View article
The Parma Theatre is on fire at this moment! (article from WOIO Channel 19 news below)
Parma Theater Fire: Historic landmark goes up in flames Posted: Nov 16, 2012 5:10 PM EST Updated: Nov 16, 2012 5:29 PM EST
PARMA, OH (WOIO) –
The Parma Fire Department is on the scene at 5826 Ridge Road at the Parma Theater fighting a huge fire.
The Parma Theater was closed about 2 months.
Parma Theater opened in 1936 and is one of the oldest theaters in the neighborhood. It closed on Labor Day of this year.
There is no information about the cause of the fire at this time or if anyone was injured.
Copyright 2012 WOIO. All rights reserved.
An effort has been launched to save the theater: View article
As a former resident of the Cleveland area, I am sad to see it go, but I am sure that another factor was the cost of going to digital projection.
Goodbye to an icon in Parma: Sun News editorial
Published: Thursday, August 30, 2012, 11:29 AM
Sun News staff By Sun News staff
Another sad reminder of the passage of time and the softness of the economy hits home this week as we learn the Parma Theater will shut down for good shortly after Labor Day.
For lots of Parma residents, watching animated classics and favorite childhood films on the enormous screen while seated in plush seats with a treat from the concession stand is a treasured memory. But the reality is we did not continue those weekly pilgrimages to that movie palace, nor did we take our children there on a regular basis in enough numbers to keep the theater afloat.
Viewing habits changed. Multiplexes with about as much charm as tiny warehouses sprang up to push the beautiful movie theaters out of the picture. In-home movie services and gigantic TV screens now are encroaching on that experience, and it seems families are abandoning the movie theater experience altogether and hunkering down in their own family rooms and living rooms to watch films.
The scenario has played out in other cities, where old, art deco movie houses limp along until the owner simply has to throw in the towel. There are sudden spurts of activity from nostalgic residents who suddenly look for ways to save the structures as community assets; architecturally important and significant in the fabric of the community. But after a flurry of concern and calls for saving the theater, what tends to play out is what was recently seen in Lakewood: The theater is razed and a fast-food restaurant is building on the site.
Without patrons, these theaters cannot make it.
Owner Norman Barr told the Sun Post he held out as long as he could. He has been looking for a buyer for five years. Here’s hoping a potential buyer with some creative, workable ideas for such a property steps forward. The city administration and city council should get proactive in helping market the high-traffic site at 5826 Ridge Road. But there is no question the challenge is great.
Meanwhile, we find ourselves saying goodbye to an icon of the community. We might not have supported it enough in recent years, but we wanted to know it was there; an anchor in our town that connected us to our past and to each other. But the passage of time has no respect for that sort of thing, and in the end, it is time that wins.
Parma Theater will close in September, owner says Published: Tuesday, August 28, 2012, 11:14 AM Updated: Tuesday, August 28, 2012, 11:21 AM Bob Sandrick, Sun News By Bob Sandrick, Sun News Follow
PARMA Parma Theater, which has struggled financially in recent years, will probably close for good in September.
The news came earlier this week from Norman Barr, owner of the theater, which is at 5826 Ridge Road.
“We held out as long as we could,” Barr told the Sun Post.
Barr said the theater will probably close Monday, which is Labor Day. However, he said he may keep the theater open another week.
Barr said he is closing Parma Theater partly because he has been trying to sell it for more than five years.
Kelly & Visconsi Associates LLC, a commercial real estate firm in Beachwood, has been marketing the property for Barr.
Barr said he has not reached a deal with a buyer. He said there has only been “general talk” among those interested in purchasing the theater.
Barr said he is closing the theater also due to slipping attendance. Late last year, the theater cut back on show times and started showing movies only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Parma Theater is one of the region’s oldest movie houses.
According to “Parma,” a pictorial history of the city by Diana Eid, Parma Theater opened in 1936 as a one-screen theater with about 1,500 seats.
Barr had also owned Detroit Twin Theater, another old movie theater in Lakewood. He sold that theater and it closed in January 2011. McDonald’s is now building a restaurant on the site.
Barr said there are no firm plans for the Parma Theater site but he believes it might be redeveloped.
“That is probably what will happen,” Barr said.
Councilwoman Debbie Lime, whose Ward 2 encompasses the theater, said she was sad to hear about the closing.
“It’s a big piece of the community,” Lime said. “I’d like to see what we can do to save it.”
According to the showtimes listed on their website, it appears that this theater is only open on weekends.
Sorry; I should not have assumed that “for sale” implied that the theater was closed, although, sadly that is often the case.
Is it closed? I went past there the other day and the marquee was lit up and had titles on it, I don’t remember what they were though.
It is apparently is now closed and for sale. According to this article, at least one resident wants the city’s help in helping to acquire it and restoring the Parma as a mixed use venue: View link
Renewing link.
Showing Indian films in early 2007:
http://tinyurl.com/5w5z7l
I know it’s independent, but does anybody know who, exactly, owns and operates the Parma Theatre?