Shaker Square Cinemas

The Vogue was only about 2 miles from the Colony and in a better section of Shaker Hts. Shaker Square, the location of the Colony, is officially Cleveland. Right on the border. The Vogue, however, was not as nice as the Colony. The Colony had real class.
Alas, even Shaker Hts. is not what it used to be. There are some streets of the super-rich, but more and more Shaker is becoming upper middle class.
There was probably not a finer house than the Colony outside of downtown.

It is impossible to make a buck with a single screen these days. Couple that with the decline of the neighborhood and you have this result. It is probably still better than the alternative which is a dark theatre or a wrecking ball. This has happened in thousands of instances around the country. Another nice single screen in Shaker Heights (Cleveland) was the Vogue at Van Aken & Warrensville Rds.

I have never been in the Colony since it was “cut up.” Don’t want to. The only thing positive I can say is that it was dark as a single screen theatre and probably would have never opened again. This is the only way. Shaker Square is right on the border between Cleveland and Shaker Hts. A block away is a pretty seedy neighborhood in one direction and a not bad neighborhood in the other.
Yes, the theatres have to be pretty small. I’m not sure it can last, even it its present state. The Shaker Square Association wants it, of course, so they are very accommodating to the owners. I doubt if they are paying any rent (or very little).

Before “roadshows” the Colony just played sub-run movies, but it was always a “class house.” When it was first “cut-up” the job was terrible. After a fire, a lot of the work was redone. Even so, it is nothing like it was. (what is?)
Yes, there WAS a balcony and it was converted into two of the “screens.” They preserved the full size of the main screen by paritioning off the first third of the main floor. The back half of the main floor was cut in two. That makes 5 screens.
Set on picturesque Shaker Square, the Colony was a work of art.
It remained dark for quite a while as a single screen house. It was only through financial incentives that it reopened at all.
Unfortunately, the neighborhood has deteriorated quite a bit.

When I visited the Colony in the 60s it was still single screen and a very pretty house. They had 2 Super Simplex projectors and RCA photophone sound. I believe the lamps were Ashcraft.

Later, they replaced the Supers with Norelco/Philips 35mm/70mm machines.

The Shaker Square Cinemas was originally the Colony Theatre.