Mall Theatres
303 Euclid Avenue,
Cleveland,
OH
44144
303 Euclid Avenue,
Cleveland,
OH
44144
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March 17th, 1917 grand opening ad uploaded here
Edward Richardson and Arthur Yost, architects of the Mall Theatres, also designed the Abbey Theatre on Waterloo Road.
Direct link to the Popular Mechanics magazine of May, 1917. Scroll down to read p. 735
There is an article with a picture in Popular Mechanics May 1917 Page 735, which can be see in Google Books.
if you navigate to the upper center portion of this large photo, the Euclid Avenue entrance to Loew’s Mall Theater can be seen circa 1927, the date of release for the movie being shown.
There were at least two early theaters called the Mall in Cleveland. As shown in the ad to which Mike Rivest linked in the previous comment, the duplex Mall Theatre on Euclid Avenue opened in 1917. The earlier Mall Theatre was a smaller house located on Superior Avenue.
Here are a few relevant lines from an article on Cleveland movie houses published in The Moving Picture World, issue of July 5, 1916:
As Mike’s ad is dated March 17, 1917, the completion of the house was obviously delayed. The 1917 opening also means that the Duplex Theatre in Detroit, opened in 1915, so far remains the earliest twin theater known to have operated in the United States. The claim to uniqueness made in the Mall’s opening ad could only have applied to its piggyback configuration. The Detroit Duplex featured side-by-side auditoriums.I’ve found several references to this house as Loew’s Mall Theatre from the period 1920-1922.
Grand opening ad, “The Only Duplex Theatre Of Its Kind In The World"
from March 17th, 1917 is at
View link
Was it called Loews Mall at one time?
This building was not demolished after its closure, it was put to other use. I believe that the Euclid Avenue side was an S&H green stamp redemption center. That building had a large blank wall with a decorative sign that was probably 3 stories, which would be the sort of thing that would have replaced a theater. On the Superior side were several savings and loans, one of which probably absorbed the theater space on that side.
Odd, I never heard of this theater till now. I guess I was too small when it closed to remember. It must’ve been the first theater on Euclid Avenue.
The Mall was built in 1914 by real estate developer Joseph Laronge. In 1916 Laronge built the Stillman Theatre near 12th St. Later that year he formed a partnership with 2 guys named Strong and Desberg and a third guy, Marcus Loew. The partnership was called Loew’s Ohio Theatres. This may be when the Mall and Stillman became Loew’s houses. The partnership went on to develop the Loew’s State, Ohio, Park and Granada theatres.
An interesting sidelight: It’s not widely known around Cleveland, but the Mall was formerly a Loew’s theatre. This was very early on in its existence. A photograph does exist showing the Loew’s Mall sign atop the Euclid Avenue marquee. I’m trying to obtain a copy of this photo right now.
Another quasi-interesting note: During the early to late 1930s, the Mall was managed by Bert H. Todd, who would become an assistant manager to Billy Rose, the famous showman who managed the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Todd returned to Cleveland after the fair, and was manager and part-owner of several area theatres, including the Oriental and Bandbox.