Loew's Stillman Theatre
1111 Euclid Avenue,
Cleveland,
OH
44115
1111 Euclid Avenue,
Cleveland,
OH
44115
4 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 36 of 36 comments
Very interesting. What I might have seen was a report that the Allen was, by far, in the worst condition before restoration.
According to the Playhouse Square Assn., The Loew’s State opened on February 5, 1921, the Loew’s Ohio on February 12, and the Allen opened on April 1, 1921. The Palace opened November 6, 1922.
I believe it was in the Allen lobby before they re-opened the theatre. The Allen is the oldest of all the restored theatres.
Wasnt there a restaurant in the Allen rotunda for awhile? I think I ate there once.
The Stillman didn’t seem part of the Playhouse Square scene due to its location. And, yes, there WAS a need for more parking in the area. I guess with three theatres in the area Loew’s had to choose and the Stillman was the loser.
The Hipp was in a different class. A much lower-class house. Size aside, it could not compete with the Playhouse Square theatres.
And, if you are going to close one theatre out of three, one of them has to be first!
It was the beginning of the end.
I liked the Stillman a lot, but Loew’s was already running roadshows at the Ohio and the State could handle regular first-run fare.
The way things look today, I think it was a big mistake to demolish the Stillman. And the same fate almost happened to the Allen (SW). It was the last theatre to be saved from the wreckers ball and it was in very sad shape.
There werent any (or few) mall theaters around yet in Cleveland when the Stillman closed (1963 or so?), so I’m wondering why Loew’s threw in the towel so early. The other theaters held out till the late 60’s. I’m sure Lawrence was a big moneymaker. Guess we’ll never know exactly why. Yes, it wasnt near the other 4, but the Hipp lasted a lot longer and was a lot bigger. Maybe there were real estate forces at work here behind the scenes.
Like most of the downtown theatres in most of the medium and large cities in America, the Stillman closed for lack of business. No convenient parking. Easy access to first-run movies at suburban theatres. Some of the other downtown theatres in Cleveland (Allen, Ohio, State, Palace) were saved from the wrecking ball and became live venues. The Stillman was not contiguous to these theatres, being about 5 blocks west on Euclid Ave.
The Stillman was a very nice theatre but not overly anything. Not overly fancy,or overly big.
I remember the booth being incredibly small and cramped.
With two operators most of the time, there was hardly space enough to breathe.
The presentation at the Stillman was always first-rate.
Am glad finally someone posted something on this theater. I remember walking past what used to be the theater in the 70’s when I worked in downtown Cleveland and you could recognize the theater lobby, which was being used as the ramp to the parking garage. I remember it being announced it was closing after the roadshow engagement of Lawrence of Arabia. Does anyone know why it closed? It must have made money with that movie!
When I visited the Stillman booth in the 60s I found 3 Century 35/70mm projectors. The lamps were Ashcraft Super Cinex. I remember tube-type RCA power amplifiers.
The seating capacity of the Loew’s Stillman was 1800.
The ramp into the garage from Euclid Ave goes in though the former Stillman lobby, and it still had the plaster-relief ceiling and faux-columns on the walls. The last time I saw it, about 10 years ago, the walls and ceiling had been painted yellow, and where chandeliers once hung were now mercury-vapor street light fixtures.