Shore Theatre
22500 Lakeshore Boulevard,
Euclid,
OH
44123
22500 Lakeshore Boulevard,
Euclid,
OH
44123
2 people
favorited this theater
The Shore Theatre was opened on April 8, 1939 with Don Ameche in “The Three Musketeers”. It was closed around 1980. It was demolished and a bank now stands on the site.
Contributed by
Toby Radloff
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
I lived in in Cleveland when the Shore was demolished, and I am rather certain the Shore was not demolished to allow for the expansion of of the Lake Theater (now the Lakeshore 7). The Lake and the Shore were not really next to each other. Several years intervened between the demolition of the Shore and the expansion of the Lake. They both fronted on Lakeshore Boulevard but were separated by a number of stores. The site of the Shore is now occupied by a bank and by an entrance to the parking area behind the stores and the parking behind the Lakeshore 7; previously, the only entrance to the parking was off the road that ran behind both theaters.
The Lake was first triplexed by building two smaller cinemas left and right within the original
auditorium, with the center doors leading into what remained of that auditorium; its big screen is intact. Later, four cinemas were built alongside the original theater building in the early 1990’s, with an entrance hall (I just can’t call it a lobby) leading in from the back parking lot. The expansion was accomplished by capturing an alleyway and demolishing one or two of the stores that stood between the original Lake and the Shore.
The lobby of the Lakeshore 7 is essentially the original Lake lobby which has some Art Deco touches remaining though the lavender and maroon paint job is certainly not original.
In the 70’s, the Shore was a third-run theater charging $1 admission, while the Lake was a second-run venue with a $2 admission charge. Then the Lake closed down abruptly, and the Shore soldered on. When the Lake was reopened and expansion plans were announced, the Shore was shut down and demolished.
Wasn’t there also a bowling alley located
somewhere in between the two theaters
that caught fire also?
There was an alley next to the Shore Theatre. Next to this alley was a series of stores including a restaurant. Behind this restaurant was the bowling alley known as Shore Bowling. The snack bar at the bowling alley was what caught fire.
The Shore Theatre was designed by architect Paul Matzinger. An article about the recently opened house appeared in the May 27, 1939, issue of Boxoffice Magazine.
The Shore had been closed for several years by 1977. At that point, it had a leaking roof and there was standing water in the auditorium, according to people involved in early efforts to redevelop the area. These problems made it difficult to do anything with the theatre, which was surrounded by more or less functional, if aging businesses. Parking was in the rear near the bowling alley. For many years, the theatre’s neighbor, Northeast Appliance would have a row of televisions playing in their display window, even if the store was closed—it was good advertising for the movies' major competitor. Northeast outlasted the theatre by quite a few years. The theatre’s demise had nothing to do with the Lake theatre. Instead, it was torn down as part of the construction of a new Finast (later Tops) super market, which replaced a long running Pick-n-Pay store that was across the street (Finast and Pick-n-Pay had the same ownership by that point).
The Pick-n-Pay/Finast/Tops remained across the street after the Shore was demolished. An entrance to the parking lot that was behind the theater and a bank (now a Fifth/Third,) was built where the Shore once was. Both are there today.
I’ll take a look the next time I’m in Cleveland. There was a long running bank that was either across the alley to the parking lot next to Podboy’s Lounge or the one next to Northeast Appliance. it was Second Federal (later renamed Cardinal Federal) and probably taken over by someone else during the S&L debacle of the 80s. There always were entrances to the parking lot, one of them just got larger once the theater was demolished. We always parked in back and walked along the side by Northeast Appliance. Access was possible from Lake Shore, but more convenient from Shore Center Drive (which is what ran in back).
The Pick-n-Pay remained a Pick-n-Pay until it closed. It’s now a new build Walgreens which probably has a footprint identical to that of the old super market.
The Shore’s one distinction was having a “starlight” ceiling with small painted stars that glowed in the dark. It was the only neighborhood or suburban theater I remember having such a feature. Even during the 60s, it was a second string theater which often showed double features and occasionally showed a re-release of something many years old. Then it began to co-book with drive-ins and then had a rather short life as a dollar theater. In my time, it was always considered “not as nice” as the Lake.
Granada grand opening ad April 8th, 1939 uploaded in the photo section
We lived on the 500 block of Babbitt Rd in the late 50s. The area now occupied by a golf course. Google tells me The Shore was .9 miles from our home. Younger brother and I were 7 and 8, yet our mom let us walk each Saturday for a show with a dollar in my pocket for us both. 25cents to get in, 5 cents for a Good n Plenty, 5 cent popcorn and 5cent drink. Euclid YMCA was a block from our home, and Memorial Park was 3-4 blocks