Regal I, II, III
1201 Linn Street,
Cincinnati,
OH
45203
1201 Linn Street,
Cincinnati,
OH
45203
6 people
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It lookis identical the a theater in Philly Sam’s Place
Look at the picture in 1983 (Flashdance).
IT WAS A TRIPLEX BEFORE 1991! The Regal sas not playing triple fatures at that time. Back in Blaxploitation days maybe…😛
The Regal always frustrated me because they never listed showtimes in the newspaper, and only rarely even bought placement in a display ad, so as much as I wanted to visit there, I never knew what was playing. I guess they were content to cater solely to the immediate neighborhood for traffic.
If there were any way someone could compile a list of movies and playdates from its history, particularly the grindhouse days, that would be amazing.
Jack F. Goldman operated the Regal from 1937 until his death in 1967 along with other major African American theaters in the city including the Roosevelt , Lincoln and Beecher. The theatre closed in his honor on February 23, 1967.
The Regal hit its stride in the mid 1950s with major acts appearing live including Lionel Hampton, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington and The Ink Spots. It was then run by his son, Bert Goldberg. He was followed by Gary Goldman who refurbished the aged facility relaunching it as the Regal Cinema on February 27, 1970 with “A Long Ride From Hell” and “Sweet Body of Deborah.”
The Regal found its audience in the 1970s with Blaxploitation and Chop Socky films. But as the multiplexes and home video started to take their toll, Goldman had one more trick up his sleeve. The theatre underwent a $130,000 renovation in October 1991 an re-emerged as a triplex with the balcony cut into halves for screens II and III under the name, the Regal Cinema I-II-III. It closed under that name on January 3, 1994 with “Beverly Hillbillies,” “Robocop 3,” and “Jurrassic Park” sharing a screen with “Ernest Goes to Camp.”
The theatre was sold in 1996 with a plan that would have returned the Regal to a single-screened live theater. That plan did not materialize.
Circa 1983 photo added courtesy of Renee Rachel-Garcia‎.
Built as The Casino Theater in 1913 and opened as same in 1914, in the 1940"s its called Regal Theater. Architects for this venue were Rapp/Zettle/Rapp. Current owners in Nov. of 2013 are the Port Authrity Land Bank Cincinnati,Ohio. More info can be garnered at that site.
MPFAFF doing a documentary of the West End do you have pictures of the Regal before it’s demise have included stories of the Regal (Casino) in my book , Cincinnati’s West End along with The State, Lincoln, Peking, Hippodrome, Roosevelt and Dixie theaters http://www.amazon.com/Cincinnatis-West-End-Through-Eyes/dp/1456306022/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1363878705&sr=8-2&keywords=cincinnati%27s+west+end
Unfortunately Cincinnati is full of residents- former and current- who have good intentions but limited capabilities. Add Chris Randolph and Dixon Edwards up to this uninspiring list. From the old Hudepohl building to the Crosley factory plenty of people are sitting on buildings and stopping the future improvement of our community. I would like to request that Mr Edwards and his company- CASINO THEATER CINCINNATI LLC- hand this property over to someone capable of improving it.
The Regal Th. was two blocks away from the Metropolitan Th. (not Majestic Th.) which later was re-named The State Th. and finally Allision’s West-End Th. Today the original Metropolitan Th. is the home of the Lighthouse Church.
I take it that Mr. Edwards' renovation efforts were not successful.
Does anyone have any interior pictures of the Regal (Casino) Theatre?
Casino Theater was the original name of this venue when it opened in 1913 and later became the Rialto Th. It was designed by local Cincinnati architects Rapp,Zettle,and Rapp.One can still see the Casino name inscribed at the top of its entrance tower.
My Dad managed this place in the early 90s for Gary Goldman until the day they shut it down, the neighborhood largely ruined a lot of the splendor the building had along with the fact that business was on the decline and the money wasn’t there to do proper maintenance at the time. The neighborhood and clientele were a little more dangerous then than they would be now.
I’m afraid there is no pipe organ in there. There’s a reasonably large stage, a dressing room or two, a decent sized basement are under the stage, a very small orchestra pit in front. In the early 90s the balcony was converted into two more screens.
It ran mostly second run with the occasional first run picture and had the best steamed hot dogs and metts you could get in Cincinnati.
I spent my whole life in the movie business, there’s not much of a market these days for small theaters that aren’t art houses. I left just last year for an office job.
Chris, I wish you and Dixon all the best in bringing this one back to life. With so many of Cincinnati’s theaters facing the wrecking ball with the demise of R.K.O, this venue is a true survivor. Because of this, it becomes all the more valuable. You might check if it had a pipe organ at one time. If so you could check with the American Pipe Organ Society (ATOS), as well as that group’s Ohio chapter. They would be willing to help with research on this. A grand theater organ would make the Regal all the more popular. Again, best wishes for success!! == Sam ==
Chris, looking forward to seeing what will be done with this building as it would be a great addition to the community. It is a conversation piece whenever we give tours of the property at City West.
Film Daily on 1927 numbers the seats here at 1,000
Nice looking theatre.
My name is Chris Randolph and I represent Dixon Edwards the former NFL player who owns the Regal. We noticed that you had some some posts and dialog with several individuals who share a common passion of Theaters.
Dixon, is currently pursuing a restoration project of the property and we were wanting to introduce ourselves. We are searching for alike enthusiasts to share input through the process.
Would you be so kind as to phone me when you can at the cell number below.
Christopher Randolph
512-947-0051
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyum/3892813035/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyum/3893576858/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyum/3893578848/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyum/3892792629/
Right now Encore is showing Planet Terror. I started thinking about “Grindhouses” and thought of The Regal and Googled it then found this site. Back in ‘68 when my Mother was going through some kind of badness I still don’t know the details of my grandpa used to take me and my little brother here on Saturday mornings to see bad horror flicks, I guess to get us out of the mess. I saw The Undertaker and His Pals here. We used to buy big wintergreen mint candies and suck on them rather than eat the hotdogs on sale there. We sat in the balcony because the rumours were that rats ran over your feet on the main floor. For the longest time the alleys around there used to ceawl with drug dealers and I go busted there buying a dime bag of bad green pot once, (let go with a warning). Lots o’ fond memories of that place.
There was a CASINO TH> in 1908 in Cincinnati,Ohio but NOT at the 1200 Linn Street site. This other Casino Th. was probably a nickelodeon show located at west fifth street where many early nickel houses got their start.posted by
The regal theater was built as The Casino theater in 1913 by the architects rapp zettle rapp of Cincinnati,ohio no relation to RAPP AND RAPP of Chicago.The Casino Theater opened in1914 as a vaudeville house which also showed films.The Regal th. was purchased by the Goldman family in the 1940'and became part of their chain of black cinemas. In the 1990’s the Regal was first twinned and then tri plexed by using the balcony for two screens but the main floor with stage and fly space remained. The casino had a Wurlitzer organ originally but i don’t know how large it was. The name Casino can still be discerned on its facade. The Regal ceased operatiin the 1990’s.posted by sept.2006