A PHOENIX HAS RISEN FROM THE ASHES

By: Cindi Szymanski  | All photos by Ken Blaze

January 17, 2017

Between February 1921 and November 1922, five opulent theaters opened along a stretch of Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The venues, which came to be collectively known as Playhouse Square, offered silent movies, vaudeville and legitimate theater until the Depression era, when movies were the preferred, less expensive entertainment option. The post-World War II flight to the suburbs and the rise of television sent the downtown theaters into a death spiral that accelerated throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

Between May 1968 and July 1969 four of the grand old theaters closed, becoming subject to neglect and vandalism. No one foresaw their reopening, especially when suburban cinemas relegated many downtown American movie palaces to the ash heap. But gradually, a bold, grassroots plan came to fruition and all of Playhouse Square’s historic spaces were fully restored to their original splendor…except one.

Designed by architect Thomas Lamb, the neo-Renaissance Ohio Theatre had been badly damaged by fire in 1964, just weeks after a full restoration had been completed. The auditorium was salvageable, but the lobby was completely destroyed. All of the original lobby ornamentation – three murals, ornate ceiling, columns, and decorative fireplaces – was lost in the fire, which had started in a hot oil popcorn machine.

The threatened razing of the Ohio and State Theatres in 1972 galvanized volunteers and community leaders who obtained a stay of execution. In succeeding years, limited repair and renovation allowed for sporadic staging of productions as money was raised for restoration. The Ohio Theatre would be first.

During its early 1980s’ restoration, funding and time would not allow both the auditorium and lobby to be fully refurbished. While the auditorium was restored, a simple, contemporary design was created for the lobby.

“There was no hope or understanding [at that time] that we could re-create what had been lost in the 1964 fire,” said Tom Einhouse, vice president of facilities and capital for Playhouse Square.

To provide for the long-term care of its beautiful theaters, Playhouse Square initiated a major fundraising campaign in 2014. The George Gund Foundation stepped forward with a generous gift that would make it possible to undertake what had long been thought to be impossible…the re-creation of the ornate Ohio Theatre lobby.

Lobby Ohio Theatre at Playhouse Square

When work first began on the project, Jeff Greene, president and executive project director of EverGreene Architectural Arts (EAA) said, “We are going to re-construct this lobby as authentically as possible. You will see a phoenix rise from the ashes when we are done.”

With help from the Theatre Historical Society of America and the Columbia University archives, exhaustive research of the original drawings by architect Thomas Lamb, photos and a few remaining bits of ornamental plaster detail provided a thorough understanding of the space and informed the project plan.

Great care was taken to ensure each element – from the carpeting and millwork to the detailed ceiling and murals – was reproduced as faithfully as possible, while at the same time taking into consideration the needs and preferences of today’s audiences. Artisans at EAA hand-sculpted prototypes using authentic, Old World techniques in order to make plaster reproductions of the ornamental detail. This process took 8500 hours to complete. Six other artisans spent three months hand-painting the lobby’s three 10-foot x 30-foot murals on canvas at EAA’s studio in New York.

“As the lobby started to come together, we had people stop and ask why all of the beautiful ornamentation had been covered up,” said Einhouse. “They were amazed to learn that it hadn’t been; it was all new.”

Greene added, “This is a once-in-a-lifetime project.”

The re-creation of the lobby design was a collaboration between EverGreene Architectural Arts and Westlake Reed Leskosky. Construction management and contracting services were provided by Turner Construction and The Coniglio Company, working with a variety of companies in Northeast Ohio.

“To re-create Thomas Lamb’s vision for this lobby nearly 100 years later is extraordinary, and it took an extraordinary collaboration to make it happen. We couldn’t be more thrilled with the result,” said Einhouse.

95 years after first opening. 52 years after a devastating fire. 34 years after restoration. The re-created Ohio Theatre lobby is indeed a phoenix risen from the ashes.

While this project completes the restoration of Playhouse Square’s historic theaters, believed to be the world’s largest theater restoration project, the work does not end. “We are the stewards of these theaters,” stated Art J. Falco, president and CEO of Playhouse Square. “It is our responsibility to ensure we properly maintain them and keep them as beautiful as they are now for future generations.”

The extensive Ohio Theatre lobby project was made possible by a $3 million gift from The George Gund Foundation to Advancing the Legacy, The Campaign for Playhouse Square. In recognition of the foundation’s generosity, the lobby has been renamed the “George Gund Foundation Lobby.”