Text of paywalled article from Cincinnati Business Courier, March 28, 2025:
Northside’s community development corporation has acquired a prominent building in the heart of its business district with the help of a city grant that came through at warp speed to match the urgency of the purchase.
Northsiders Engaged in Sustainable Transformation, or NEST, closed March 13 on the purchase of the Park Theatre building at 4157 Hamilton Ave.
The 8,193-square-foot building was constructed in 1887. It has been the home of Tri-State Appliances since 2000, when owner Mark Lawson acquired the building. His recent retirement occasioned its sale.
NEST learned of Lawson’s desire to sell the building last December. Rumors swirled about other interested parties whom NEST feared would create nuisance businesses or present other challenges for the business district, according to Rachel Hastings, NEST’s executive director.
The nonprofit put a purchase contract on the building almost immediately. The next month, it applied for a $400,000 grant from the city of Cincinnati’s Quick Strike Acquisition and Project Support Fund, days after the Jan. 17 opening of the grant round.
It learned of the award in the following weeks.
Homebase Cincinnati, which administers the Quick Strike program, awarded NEST the $400,000 grant it asked for, which fully funded the purchase. NEST acquired the building through 5147 Hamilton LLC.
“The entire process was less than two months, which is like rocket speed for getting city funding,” Hastings told the Business Courier.
That’s the goal of the Quick Strike program, the brainchild of Cincinnati City Council member Seth Walsh. The program helps nonprofit community development corporations secure critical sites in Cincinnati neighborhoods to support future development.
Last year’s awardees included the College Hill Community Urban Redevelopment Corp.’s acquisition of College Hill Plaza and the Mount Washington Community Development Corp.’s purchase of land for an affordable hosing project.
“Sometimes you have these amazing, brief opportunities in your neighborhood to buy something, but you don’t have two years to do fundraising,” Hastings said. “The whole goal of Quick Strike is to make funds available to do those kind of emergency acquisitions. I think it really worked as envisioned here. It’s a great tool for communities.”
The Park Theatre, later known as the Alpha Theatre, opened in 1913. At one point, whether before or after, it was a vaudeville showcase. Then it transitioned into an adult films theater, and continued as such through the 1960s, according to a post on Cinema Treasures.
The Grote family acquired the building in 1980 and turned it into a bakery, leveling the theater’s floors, putting in a drop ceiling and covering the original tile with plywood.
In its current state, the building needs leak repairs, tuck pointing, new paint and graffiti remediation. That’s NEST’s first priority. Simultaneously, the nonprofit will hold engagement sessions with the neighborhood to see about future uses – likely retail and perhaps a shared community space, according to Hastings.
“We think this building can really activate the Hamilton Avenue business district in a more positive way than it has in the past,” she said.
The building now operates as, alternately, the Liberty Exhibition Hall, an arts facility and community gathering spot, and The Lounge, a live music venue.
Sometime in ‘73, the operators would open the 16mm upstairs screening room called “The Penthouse” for public shows; they had a short stint of doing midnight movies there.
It would appear that in between the December 1970 foreclosure on Automated Theatres, and the General Cinema takeover in August 1972, someone else did take over the theatre and reopened it on Wednesday, January 27, 1971, with CATCH-22 and ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER.
The Gables appears in Ken Wiederhorn’s thriller EYES OF A STRANGER with Lauren Tewes and Jennifer Jason Leigh, in a scene where Tewes goes to the movies with her boyfriend. In an outdoor display case is a poster for DAWN OF THE DEAD, an inside joke on Tom Savini doing the special effects, and in a wider shot, BEING THERE can be seen on the marquee.
I think I may have an answer to the narrow design of the Eden/Guild theatre.
I looked up the address of 782 E. McMillan in Newspapers dot com from 1900 onward, and from 1920 to approximately 1932, it was an auto shop!
One ad from September 5, 1920, proclaimed, “ROOM FOR 12 CARS, AND EQUIPMENT FOR REPAIRING.” Another from April 25, 1926, advertises Peebles Corner Auto Sales at the 782 address.
A classified ad on Aug 07, 1932, simply reads, “Store, reasonable rent, good for any business.” So that may well be when the site got scouted by Willis Vance for a movie theatre.
So it’s still a wild guess, but perhaps that former Cincy Theater from 1913 got gutted and turned into a garage, and then was reconfigured back in the ‘30s. Maybe the ceilings got elevated in the 30s?
Ludlow Cinema marquee spotted in the final scenes of Jeff Nichols' THE BIKERIDERS (shot almost entirely in the Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and Middletown areas), with a bearded Norman Reedus on a motorbike enticing patrons into seeing EASY RIDER.
Got the new Vinegar Syndrome bluray of Nick Millard’s 1974 horror film SATAN’S BLACK WEDDING, and there’s a moment where the lead character walks past the 812. Spurred me to look it up here.
In the 1974 sketch comedy THE GROOVE TUBE, during “The Dealers” segment, the Elgin is the theatre that Ken Shapiro and Richard Belzer duck into to avoid police, and end up meeting a…very accommodating woman.
In the 80s, during its three-screen incarnation, it was run by Pete Gall, former owner of the Guild in Cincinnati, the former Cinema Malibu in Hamilton, and the Franklin in Franklin, and the Ludlow in Ludlow KY.
At one time the Ludlow had a 4-channel quadrophonic magnetic stereo capability, which was later transplanted to the Cinema West theatre in Hamilton in 1975.
In the ‘70s, this venue was known as the Franklin Cinema, and was owned/operated by Clarence “Pete” Gall and his Malibu Inc. company, which also operated the Cinema Malibu in Hamilton (formerly the Linden), and most infamously, the Guild Cinema in Cincinnati.
Clarence “Pete” Gall became the owner of the theatre and gave it the name Cinema Malibu in 1968; his company name was Malibu Inc. Gall would be best known for his time running the Guild Cinema in Cincinnati, which, on his opening night of operation, was raided by the vice squad for playing Russ Mayer’s VIXEN.
It’s safe to say that the Guild’s lean to adult fare began in 1969, where they transitioned from R-rated art films and moveovers to straight up softcore. In the hierarchy of the active adult theatres in Cincinnati of the time, they would share higher-profile titles with Cinema X on Race St., while the Royal would effectively be second-run double features and the Imperial stressed their striptease performers more than the movies they played. Besides VIXEN, the Guild also opened PUTNEY SWOPE, Morrissey’s TRASH, and Art Napoleon’s THE ACTIVIST (ghost released by Universal under the “Regional Films” alias).
1972 saw some cracks in the fascade, interspersing a Charlie Chaplin compilation and the Black drama THE BUS IS COMING with the skin flicks. It looks like they went dark for a few months, and reopened in December of that year under a new owner, “Mark I Theatres,” and a new name, Midtown Cinema, and became a second-run double feature house. They even instituted super late night 2am shows on the weekend. More importantly, much like Black-attended theatres as the Regal and the State, they stopped listing showtimes in the Cincinnati papers and only occasionally put their name in display ads if joining a city-wide saturation run. They apparently dabbled back in adult films again, attempting to play DEEP THROAT in 1974 after it had already been shut down at the Alpha Fine Arts in Northside; they too had their run raided and ended early.
Some time before 1976, they entered a joint-operation agreement with the Alpha, and rebranded again as Eden Theatre. Looks like they still weren’t putting times in the papers, but reportedly they concentrated on exploitation fare like martial arts movies, and were only open on weekends.
In the ‘70s, the space was rebranded the “Video Theatre” and dabbled in countercultural programming. The original videotape version of Ken Shapiro’s THE GROOVE TUBE sketch program played there, followed by Ernest Pintoff’s “magazine” film DYNAMITE CHICKEN with Richard Pryor, and Emile de Antonio’s documentary MILLHOUSE.
According to an article in The Cincinnati Post about adult businesses published on June 22, 1973, this Cinema X location was closed on January 12, 1972, by the Common Pleas Court, and its assets auctioned by the county to pay off the fines.
In a story on adult businesses in The Cincinnati Post on June 22, 1973, it states that the Monte Vista had been shut down by a Common Pleas Court order on November 1, 1972. Sometime later in 1973, the theatre reopened and returned to second-run double features.
April 2025 article on new owners hoping to redevelop the site:
https://local12.com/news/local/historic-cincinnati-theater-gets-new-owners-marks-significant-step-toward-revitalization-landmark-history-iconic-ownership-westwood-works-awarded-award-funds-funding-quick-strike-program-harrison-avenue
CityBeat article from a few weeks ago about redevelopment:
https://www.citybeat.com/arts/college-hill-redevelopment-group-unveils-plans-to-revitalize-historic-movie-theater-19536654
Text of paywalled article from Cincinnati Business Courier, March 28, 2025:
Northside’s community development corporation has acquired a prominent building in the heart of its business district with the help of a city grant that came through at warp speed to match the urgency of the purchase. Northsiders Engaged in Sustainable Transformation, or NEST, closed March 13 on the purchase of the Park Theatre building at 4157 Hamilton Ave. The 8,193-square-foot building was constructed in 1887. It has been the home of Tri-State Appliances since 2000, when owner Mark Lawson acquired the building. His recent retirement occasioned its sale. NEST learned of Lawson’s desire to sell the building last December. Rumors swirled about other interested parties whom NEST feared would create nuisance businesses or present other challenges for the business district, according to Rachel Hastings, NEST’s executive director. The nonprofit put a purchase contract on the building almost immediately. The next month, it applied for a $400,000 grant from the city of Cincinnati’s Quick Strike Acquisition and Project Support Fund, days after the Jan. 17 opening of the grant round. It learned of the award in the following weeks. Homebase Cincinnati, which administers the Quick Strike program, awarded NEST the $400,000 grant it asked for, which fully funded the purchase. NEST acquired the building through 5147 Hamilton LLC. “The entire process was less than two months, which is like rocket speed for getting city funding,” Hastings told the Business Courier. That’s the goal of the Quick Strike program, the brainchild of Cincinnati City Council member Seth Walsh. The program helps nonprofit community development corporations secure critical sites in Cincinnati neighborhoods to support future development. Last year’s awardees included the College Hill Community Urban Redevelopment Corp.’s acquisition of College Hill Plaza and the Mount Washington Community Development Corp.’s purchase of land for an affordable hosing project. “Sometimes you have these amazing, brief opportunities in your neighborhood to buy something, but you don’t have two years to do fundraising,” Hastings said. “The whole goal of Quick Strike is to make funds available to do those kind of emergency acquisitions. I think it really worked as envisioned here. It’s a great tool for communities.” The Park Theatre, later known as the Alpha Theatre, opened in 1913. At one point, whether before or after, it was a vaudeville showcase. Then it transitioned into an adult films theater, and continued as such through the 1960s, according to a post on Cinema Treasures. The Grote family acquired the building in 1980 and turned it into a bakery, leveling the theater’s floors, putting in a drop ceiling and covering the original tile with plywood. In its current state, the building needs leak repairs, tuck pointing, new paint and graffiti remediation. That’s NEST’s first priority. Simultaneously, the nonprofit will hold engagement sessions with the neighborhood to see about future uses – likely retail and perhaps a shared community space, according to Hastings. “We think this building can really activate the Hamilton Avenue business district in a more positive way than it has in the past,” she said.
The intersection of Gilbert and McMillan where the big Paramount vertical had been now hosts a hotsy-totsy restaurant called The Aperture.
https://www.theaperturecinci.com/
What likely constituted the lobby space of the theater is now currently Lucy Blue Pizza.
https://lucybluecincy.com/
The building now operates as, alternately, the Liberty Exhibition Hall, an arts facility and community gathering spot, and The Lounge, a live music venue.
https://theloungecincy.com/
The Emery was finally acquired by The Children’s Theater of Cincinnati, and after massive renovation, is expected to open in the fall of 2025.
https://thechildrenstheatre.com/the-emery/
As of 2021, the space has been gutted and turned into a sports facility for a boys academy school near Avon Fields.
Sometime in ‘73, the operators would open the 16mm upstairs screening room called “The Penthouse” for public shows; they had a short stint of doing midnight movies there.
It would appear that in between the December 1970 foreclosure on Automated Theatres, and the General Cinema takeover in August 1972, someone else did take over the theatre and reopened it on Wednesday, January 27, 1971, with CATCH-22 and ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER.
The marquee can be spotted during a scene in the 1972 horror film SCREAM BLOODY MURDER aka THE CAPTIVE FEMALE.
There’s an incomplete placeholder website for the venue.
https://www.thekultla.com/
Looks like they’re operating with just the bare bones of what was left after the seats and film equipment were taken out.
The Gables appears in Ken Wiederhorn’s thriller EYES OF A STRANGER with Lauren Tewes and Jennifer Jason Leigh, in a scene where Tewes goes to the movies with her boyfriend. In an outdoor display case is a poster for DAWN OF THE DEAD, an inside joke on Tom Savini doing the special effects, and in a wider shot, BEING THERE can be seen on the marquee.
I think I may have an answer to the narrow design of the Eden/Guild theatre.
I looked up the address of 782 E. McMillan in Newspapers dot com from 1900 onward, and from 1920 to approximately 1932, it was an auto shop!
One ad from September 5, 1920, proclaimed, “ROOM FOR 12 CARS, AND EQUIPMENT FOR REPAIRING.” Another from April 25, 1926, advertises Peebles Corner Auto Sales at the 782 address.
A classified ad on Aug 07, 1932, simply reads, “Store, reasonable rent, good for any business.” So that may well be when the site got scouted by Willis Vance for a movie theatre.
So it’s still a wild guess, but perhaps that former Cincy Theater from 1913 got gutted and turned into a garage, and then was reconfigured back in the ‘30s. Maybe the ceilings got elevated in the 30s?
Ludlow Cinema marquee spotted in the final scenes of Jeff Nichols' THE BIKERIDERS (shot almost entirely in the Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and Middletown areas), with a bearded Norman Reedus on a motorbike enticing patrons into seeing EASY RIDER.
Got the new Vinegar Syndrome bluray of Nick Millard’s 1974 horror film SATAN’S BLACK WEDDING, and there’s a moment where the lead character walks past the 812. Spurred me to look it up here.
In the 1974 sketch comedy THE GROOVE TUBE, during “The Dealers” segment, the Elgin is the theatre that Ken Shapiro and Richard Belzer duck into to avoid police, and end up meeting a…very accommodating woman.
In the 80s, during its three-screen incarnation, it was run by Pete Gall, former owner of the Guild in Cincinnati, the former Cinema Malibu in Hamilton, and the Franklin in Franklin, and the Ludlow in Ludlow KY.
At one time the Ludlow had a 4-channel quadrophonic magnetic stereo capability, which was later transplanted to the Cinema West theatre in Hamilton in 1975.
In the ‘70s, this venue was known as the Franklin Cinema, and was owned/operated by Clarence “Pete” Gall and his Malibu Inc. company, which also operated the Cinema Malibu in Hamilton (formerly the Linden), and most infamously, the Guild Cinema in Cincinnati.
Clarence “Pete” Gall became the owner of the theatre and gave it the name Cinema Malibu in 1968; his company name was Malibu Inc. Gall would be best known for his time running the Guild Cinema in Cincinnati, which, on his opening night of operation, was raided by the vice squad for playing Russ Mayer’s VIXEN.
It’s safe to say that the Guild’s lean to adult fare began in 1969, where they transitioned from R-rated art films and moveovers to straight up softcore. In the hierarchy of the active adult theatres in Cincinnati of the time, they would share higher-profile titles with Cinema X on Race St., while the Royal would effectively be second-run double features and the Imperial stressed their striptease performers more than the movies they played. Besides VIXEN, the Guild also opened PUTNEY SWOPE, Morrissey’s TRASH, and Art Napoleon’s THE ACTIVIST (ghost released by Universal under the “Regional Films” alias).
1972 saw some cracks in the fascade, interspersing a Charlie Chaplin compilation and the Black drama THE BUS IS COMING with the skin flicks. It looks like they went dark for a few months, and reopened in December of that year under a new owner, “Mark I Theatres,” and a new name, Midtown Cinema, and became a second-run double feature house. They even instituted super late night 2am shows on the weekend. More importantly, much like Black-attended theatres as the Regal and the State, they stopped listing showtimes in the Cincinnati papers and only occasionally put their name in display ads if joining a city-wide saturation run. They apparently dabbled back in adult films again, attempting to play DEEP THROAT in 1974 after it had already been shut down at the Alpha Fine Arts in Northside; they too had their run raided and ended early.
Some time before 1976, they entered a joint-operation agreement with the Alpha, and rebranded again as Eden Theatre. Looks like they still weren’t putting times in the papers, but reportedly they concentrated on exploitation fare like martial arts movies, and were only open on weekends.
In the ‘70s, the space was rebranded the “Video Theatre” and dabbled in countercultural programming. The original videotape version of Ken Shapiro’s THE GROOVE TUBE sketch program played there, followed by Ernest Pintoff’s “magazine” film DYNAMITE CHICKEN with Richard Pryor, and Emile de Antonio’s documentary MILLHOUSE.
According to an article in The Cincinnati Post about adult businesses published on June 22, 1973, this Cinema X location was closed on January 12, 1972, by the Common Pleas Court, and its assets auctioned by the county to pay off the fines.
In a story on adult businesses in The Cincinnati Post on June 22, 1973, it states that the Monte Vista had been shut down by a Common Pleas Court order on November 1, 1972. Sometime later in 1973, the theatre reopened and returned to second-run double features.