Hey all...

 

On December 3, the LaSalle Theater went to Sheriff's Sale. As a result of the foreclosure sale, the property is now in the hands of their lender. We are very excited and optimistic that this is the beginning of a new LaSalle Theater.

 

The lender has already contacted Northeast Shores to discuss our interest in the property. On the one hand, this building is a major architectural feature on East 185th Street. This property is a significant feature in this vital commercial district. On the other hand, the building has serious deferred maintenance that needs to be addressed. Also, a one-screen movie theater with no parking lot is a tough structure to rent.

 

So, Northeast Shores needs your advice! What do we do with the LaSalle Theater? We are asking specifically about the theater space. The rest of the building is obvious. Rehab the storefronts and rent them to good businesses. Rehab the upstairs apartments and rent them to great neighbors.

 

But, what do we do with the theater space? We would like to hear your comments and suggestions. Please note that all the seats are removed. The floor is sloped. The stage has little depth, so using it as a performance stage is limited. And oh yeah, putting the seats back in, selling popcorn, and showing first-run movies is not an option! We have already spoken to several theater operators and one-screen theaters are considered obsolete dinosaurs. No one that can get access to first-run movies is interested in having the opportunity to show "I am Legend" at the LaSalle Theater tonight.

 

So, be creative! Actually, be really creative! We need a really good idea or that theater will continue to stay dark when it has the potential to be a real anchor for the street.

 

Also, visit the blog at http://northeastshores.blogspot.com/ to see what else is going on in the neighborhood!!  I'll be adding more pics later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have you thought of organizing a formal design/ideas competition?  It would probably create some interesting results.

I personally have a soft spot for E185th, I grew up on E214 north of Lakeshore and remember riding bikes all over the neighborhood.  And Mickey's Dairy Treat just north of the LaSalle seriously has the best ice cream in the city hands down (lime fruit whip, sign me up).

 

Concert club.  See if Beachland Ballroom people would be interested in running it

Good in theory, but I think I read that the owners of Beachland are trying to get out of the business. :|

Reminds me of the old theater on Mayfield that was turned into a Boneyard. The stage and layout looks very similar to the Mayfield Boneyard, and I could see that working well there. 

Wow... are those pictures current? I never had any idea the place looked so nice inside! I live right around the corner from there, so it will be intriguing to see what can be done with it.

 

Since I was over at the Boneyard on Mayfield this weekend, which is another reused theater, I'm tempted to ask, perhaps something like "Boneyard Jr.", i.e., a local sports bar with a few plasmas/projection screens in the former theater stage area?

 

I need to check my Megamillions numbers when I get home; $160-some odd million could yield some nice results with this space :-).

gotribe -- I guess great minds think alike  :roll:

Cleveland still has no "theater and pub" place as far as I know, but I think the concept would work well here. They show second- or third-run movies and serve microbrews. Check out Portland's Bagdad Theater and Pub for an idea of how these work. http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=9&id=176

 

Or do a complete makeover and turn it into a fresh food market or a cool restaurant.

I like what was done with Johnny Malloy's on Coventry/Euclid Hts Blvd moreso than the Boneyard on Mayfield.  Both are in former theatre spaces.

 

However, I would like to see a comedy club go into that space.  Very little stage depth is needed for such performances so it could work.  Or... how about a restaraunt like nighttown that has small live performances during dining hours.

I was just going to say - the space reminds me of a place in Cincinnati called Jaspers. Smallish place with decent, affordable menu and a small stage area. Make the ticket window the valet stand and you're good to go!

I was just going to say - the space reminds me of a place in Cincinnati called Jaspers. Smallish place with decent, affordable menu and a small stage area. Make the ticket window the valet stand and you're good to go!

 

fact-finding road trip, anyone?  :-D

Karioke bar.

skate board venue

indoor swimming pool

Euclid Beach park permanent exhibit/museum

fact-finding road trip, anyone?  :-D

 

Highly not recommended - the place was a lot of fun, but the place next door was also fun and had Christmas Ale... on tap. :drunk:

Cleveland still has no "theater and pub" place as far as I know, but I think the concept would work well here. They show second- or third-run movies and serve microbrews. Check out Portland's Bagdad Theater and Pub for an idea of how these work. http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=9&id=176

 

Or do a complete makeover and turn it into a fresh food market or a cool restaurant.

 

I have to second this.  The Baghdad is an awesome place to get a drink (in house microbrew) and a movie.  Note too that the food is actually good food, though limited to pizzas, burgers, and the like.  If one of the storefronts could be converted to a restaurant I would think that a eat-in-before-the-movie/takeout-to-the-theater-counter could work well, allowing the facilities to service more than one market.

What's the demographic over there? Would it be worth creating an ethnic culture/language destination for African Americans or Hispanics, etc... For example, I bet a movie theater in Cleveland that only featured Spanish-language movies would probably be a hit.

 

Wow, it'd be neat if the theater only played Spanish-language movies and also had authentic food, drinks, etc. Just throwing ideas out there.

I like the idea of doing a theme movie place.  You could do retro decor and show black and white films.  French cuisine with french films.  Futuristic decor with sci-fi movies, etc.  Or you could create an "indoor drive-in" where the chairs are carseats facing the screen, create a starry night sky ceiling, show old B movies and serve more upscale versions of drive-in food.

 

Other uses, the space also maybe looks large enough to be a rentable hall for events. 

 

Perhaps a small church congregation in need of a home could use it?  Probably not the best use of the space, but better than sitting empty.

 

Maybe it could be converted for an indoor sport like volleyball or something, though I don't know that there would be much money in that.

 

And to really think outside the box: A funhouse. It could have a bouncy house, slides, ball pit, rope bridge, climbing wall, arcade games, etc.  During the day it's for families and after 8pm you have to be 21 and up to come in (hey, why should the kids have all the fun?) 

What's the demographic over there? Would it be worth creating an ethnic culture/language destination for African Americans or Hispanics, etc... For example, I bet a movie theater in Cleveland that only featured Spanish-language movies would probably be a hit.

 

Wow, it'd be neat if the theater only played Spanish-language movies and also had authentic food, drinks, etc. Just throwing ideas out there.

 

It's a mostly white population but is slowly moving towards more African Americans.  A spanish movie house really wouldn't work there, but not a bad idea for Clark/W25th.

They were trying to do it at Clark/W. 25th for a while in a theater that was operating as a strip club or porn theater, but it never got off the ground.

Cleveland still has no "theater and pub" place as far as I know, but I think the concept would work well here. They show second- or third-run movies and serve microbrews. Check out Portland's Bagdad Theater and Pub for an idea of how these work. http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=9&id=176

 

Or do a complete makeover and turn it into a fresh food market or a cool restaurant.

 

I have to second this.  The Baghdad is an awesome place to get a drink (in house microbrew) and a movie.  Note too that the food is actually good food, though limited to pizzas, burgers, and the like.  If one of the storefronts could be converted to a restaurant I would think that a eat-in-before-the-movie/takeout-to-the-theater-counter could work well, allowing the facilities to service more than one market.

 

not a bad idea, they are fun. columbus has or had a half dozen of these when i lived there. i see what was the best of them is still around:

 

http://www.studio35.com/index.htm

What's the demographic over there? Would it be worth creating an ethnic culture/language destination for African Americans or Hispanics Latinos, etc... For example, I bet a movie theater in Cleveland that only featured Spanish-language movies would probably be a hit.

 

Wow, it'd be neat if the theater only played Spanish-language movies and also had authentic food, drinks, etc. Just throwing ideas out there.

 

jamiec that would be an awesome thing, I would totally be down for it.  I'm not sure of the ethnic makeup of that area thought as most latinos in the city of Cleveland are in the Clark/Fulton or Broadway neighborhoods.  There might not be enough of a local draw.

The ethnic background of North Collinwood is varied, but does not really include Latinos.  There's Croatians, Slovics, Germans, Lithuanians, and African-Americans in the neighborhood, but not enough of a Latino population to support Spanish speaking movies.  That is a great idea though...

Wow SLovics,wrong neighborhood.

 

This was suspose to be redevoloped arlaready,to bad goverment got there hands into it. Cebars wanted to build a nice entertainment hall,just like beachland ballroom,but polensek spoke up. Realisticly we could use a beachland type hall  on that street. I wish the goverment shut up and take up safety in the nieghborhood instead of trying to develop things.

 

I remeber going to see major league at the theatre,pack house,for a dollar.

 

Also look at the commodore at maher square that is going to be taken down probaly,nice theatre ,but city and its communist attitude destroy good things

 

 

 

The ethnic background of North Collinwood is varied, but does not really include Latinos.  There's Croatians, Slovics, Germans, Lithuanians, and African-Americans in the neighborhood, but not enough of a Latino population to support Spanish speaking movies.  That is a great idea though...

I lived off of E. 185th street for most of my life,on Monterey,I was born in Euclid Hospital.I don't live there now though,always liked the area and wouldn't mind living there again.Unfortunatly Im only 16 so I still have 2 years before Im old enough to move back there.But back on topic.I always remember driving past the LA SALLE Thearter,it was always vacant.But I think it would be cool to make it some kind of resturant,or multiple resturants.Maybe it could be made into a little museum,that depicts the history of the E. 185th area.Plus I think the design of the building makes it look like a little museum.

 

This probably isn't high on anyone's radar right now but it's good to see there is some increased activity and interest with regard to a restored LaSalle. This is close to the Beachland /Waterloo area...would be a good addition to the entire neighborhood.

 

Last week at the LaSalle

 

 

Thanks for posting!