Comments from Toby

Showing 1 - 25 of 77 comments

Toby
Toby commented about O Theater at Randall Park on May 6, 2016 at 5:14 pm

News reports say it was an arsonist.

Toby
Toby commented about Brookgate Movies on Aug 21, 2011 at 8:55 pm

I think the first “Jaws” might have been reissued in 1977 or early 1978…this was an era where the VCR was first introduced, and was not that common in homes yet (they cost about $1200 in 1977 dollars.) The studios used to reissue their hit films the next year or two to theaters in order to make a little more money off of them…the first movie videotapes came out about 1978 or 1979, at about $100 or so each. Video stores started opening around that same time, renting these tapes for $3 or so a night.

Toby
Toby commented about Could Varsity rise again as a theater? on Aug 21, 2011 at 7:50 pm

Another theater-turned-bookstore, the former Mayland Theatre in Mayfield Heights, OH: http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/7394 became a Barnes & Noble bookstore for a few years before becoming “Boneyard Grille”, a bar-and-grill restaurant. If the Varsity’s renovation as a Borders was just like the Mayland’s renovation as a Barnes & Noble, chances are the interior was gutted and the flooring flattened, making a renovation back into a movie theater difficult and expensive.

Toby
Toby commented about Jesse James Family Drive-In on Jun 17, 2011 at 8:02 pm

Toledo had other drive ins named after Western movie characters…the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid drive-ins come to mind. I think the Sundance Kid is still open.

Toby
Toby commented about Stillwell Theatre on Mar 20, 2011 at 8:18 pm

1973 photo of Stillwell Theatre:

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Toby
Toby commented about Astor Theatre on Jan 11, 2011 at 5:29 pm

Vintage 1966 photo of Astor Theatre, taken around the time of the Hough riots:

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Toby
Toby commented about IMAX to deploy portable theaters in the U.S. and China on Jul 5, 2010 at 8:02 am

The former Geauga Lake Park near Cleveland once had “Cinema 180”, which showed IMAX-format short subject films under a dome. Usually the films would consist of subjects that make you feel like you’re in the film itself, ranging from roller coasters to mountains to underwater scenes. The Cinema 180 films were about 15-20 minutes long.

Toby
Toby commented about Center Mayfield Theatre on May 9, 2010 at 6:16 pm

I mentioned the Center Mayfield as a “sister theatre” to the Cedar Lee because Cleveland Cinemas operated it in the 1980’s and 1990’s before it closed.

Toby
Toby commented about Ceramic Theater on May 9, 2010 at 5:09 pm

Now they’re silly looking plastic glasses with black lenses.

Toby
Toby commented about Bryan Theatre on May 9, 2010 at 4:54 pm

It may have been a different theater in Massillon that Mr. Skirball built. The Lions Lincoln was built by another architect in the mid-1910’s, and was also a former Warner Bros. house. Maybe the Skirball theater was built, closed, and demolished. The Lions Lincoln, which is still open, is the only Massillon theater listed here.

Toby
Toby commented about Bryan Theatre on May 9, 2010 at 4:51 pm

I know that the Lions Lincoln Theater in Massillon, OH is listed in Cinema Treasures. Was this the theater Mr. Skirball built?

Toby
Toby commented about Austintown Movies on May 9, 2010 at 4:40 pm

A Dollar General store now occupies the former Austintown Movies site in the Austintown Plaza.

Toby
Toby commented about Chagrin Cinemas on Dec 6, 2009 at 3:13 pm

The Chagrin Cinemas was built in the 1980’s on the site of the former Chagrin Valley Drive-In.

Toby
Toby commented about Commodore Theatre on Dec 6, 2009 at 3:09 pm

The food mart mentioned in an earlier post was a 7-11 that opened in the early 1970’s. The 7-11 was across the street from the Commodore Theater.

Toby
Toby commented about O Theater at Randall Park on Apr 17, 2009 at 8:45 pm

The website link is now shut down, so this theater should now be listed as “closed”.

Toby
Toby commented about O Theater at Randall Park on Feb 28, 2009 at 9:01 pm

I did call the phone number-the phone would ring once, then dead air. Apparently the phone number still works, but their answering machine or voice mail is disconnected. That’s why I assume the theater is closed, and should be listed as such. The website still lists showtimes no later than 11/4/08. And with Sears soon closing at Randall Park Mall, the whole mall is pretty much dead, except for the businesses on the outlots along Northfield Road.

Toby
Toby commented about O Theater at Randall Park on Dec 31, 2008 at 6:41 am

The site is still up; when I typed in the address, the comma showed up as part of the address, thus the error message. Still, the site hasn’t been updated since 11/4/08, and the theater is definitely closed. That’s why AMC/Magic Johnson dumped it, and the “O” operators had a tough time keeping it going…there’s hardly anything left at Randall Park Mall except for Sears, Burlington Coat Factory, and the motorcycle repair school inside the old JC Penney store.

http://www.randallparktheater.com

Toby
Toby commented about La Salle Theatre on Dec 22, 2008 at 6:37 am

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Article in today’s (12/22/08) Cleveland Plain Dealer about the restoration of the Variety and LaSalle theaters.

Toby
Toby commented about Variety Theatre on Dec 22, 2008 at 6:36 am

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Article in today’s Plain Dealer about the restoration of the Variety and LaSalle theaters.

Toby
Toby commented about O Theater at Randall Park on Dec 22, 2008 at 6:27 am

The “O” Theater is now closed. I drove by Randall Park Mall last Saturday afternoon; the lobby had few lights on and there were only a couple of cars in the parking lot. The website, http://www.randallparktheater.com, is still up, but it hasn’t been updated-the latest showtimes are for Tuesday, November 4th, which, I assume, was the last day the theater was in business.

Toby
Toby commented about World West Theatre on May 14, 2008 at 7:49 pm

The World West was in a space near the corner of the Kamms Plaza shopping center. The space where Rego’s Fresh Market is, was always a supermarket, since the strip first opened in the early 1960’s… previously being a Tops, and prior to that, a Pick-N-Pay and a Finast.

Toby
Toby commented about Capitol Theatre on May 14, 2008 at 7:38 pm

Another PD link about Capitol Theatre renovation:

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Toby
Toby commented about Speedway Auto Theatre on May 10, 2008 at 3:20 pm

I seem to recall that the neon sign that once advertised this drive-in, which was shaped like a car, was on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

Toby
Toby commented about North High Drive-In on May 10, 2008 at 3:13 pm

Was this also known as the Kingman Drive-In? I know the Kingman was near the Franklin/Delaware county line, and that the Kingman once showed porn during the winter months.

Toby
Toby commented about O Theater at Randall Park on May 10, 2008 at 3:04 pm

Link to Plain Dealer article today (5/10/08) about the “O Theater at Randall Park”:

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