The Observation Deck

We have photos from Brian Foox, of the tear down, and exclusive photos from the inside, which will be posted later today!










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Maybe I had better leave some extra time to get across town, later (or avoid Madison).

I just went by there....traffic is moving normally. All the lanes are open.

Okay, appreciate it. Thank you!

seating and stage.


Stairs to balcony.

More coming as we go back in our archives.


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Wait! Look at who the demolition company is!

My, my, my. It appears that City Hall is keeping it all in the family. It appears to be none other than their alleged buddies at B&B Wrecking, the same company that "wrecked" the south garage and medical building. My, my, my.

I have one question for Summers & Extended Co. Can I make a public records request for "all documentation showing kickback amounts from demolition contractors?"

Then again, I suppose I should go easy on the one owner of B&B Wrecking. He appears to be trying to save the environment by not having any water, sewer, gas, or electricity hookups to his 3,000+ square foot house. That is commendable. Seriously, what gives?

Skip to 0:57:



The smell does indeed surround us. Are Summers & Co. trying to suffocate us?

Absolutly great photos, thank you, so beautiful inside, it hurts, so much could have been done.

Hmmm. I just read that someone who had been inside recently questioned whether a single seat is salvageable. These pics are very misleading, the theater seems in decent shape.

Those were not recent pictures.

Well, that explains it. If we're showing for historical purposes / posterity, would be nice to see some photos of the theater as it was when it was in use!

Motion Picture News, July 1, 1927.

Terry, never saw those pictures before. The most beautiful room in Lakewood. A shame that its gone. Its a shame that no one in the last 4 or 5 mayoral administrations realized what they had here. And to think that we get a vacant lot out of it. Everyone comes up with rationalizations why it should be demolished. It was brought up elsewhere, for instance, that the seats cannot be reused. Actually, the seats were well beyond their prime 30 years ago. They were "cheap seats" installed during some sort of renovation in the fifties. Of course they would be replaced. As far as inspection of trusses and their attachments go, a residential building department such as Lakewood should defer to a consulting engineer, who does this work for a living (again, this responds to statements made on other threads). And, yes, there were wholesale water leaks. No one argued the need for a new roof. Anyone who argued that the Hilliard was unsalvageable must have never set foot in the Playhouse Square theaters prior to their renovation. Problem is, we didn't have any crazies here like Ray Shepardson, who singlehandedly saved the Playhouse Square theaters, or Ray Pianka, who saved the Gordon Square Arcade by blocking access to the utility shutoffs. We are losing too many of the buildings that give Lakewood its charm. If we keep it up, we could make downtown Lakewood look like Brookpark Road.

If we keep it up, we could make downtown Lakewood look like Brookpark Road.

And that is exactly what some "prominent" citizens in Lakewood want.

As Thomas J George noted in a recent post about development:

I recently bumped into a prominent Lakewood friend. And as I mentioned how great the city looked, he opined that if he had his way, he would plow under about 1/2 Lakewood

A developer can't make money unless he "develops." Follow the money.

Terry, great picture/story, thanks for sharing.

By the way, the $350K cited in 1927 is $4.77M today.
What a beautiful room. Were it a vote I'd have voted to tear down the apartments to the west to restore the parking lot.