Cincinnati Theaters

Images of America: Ohio

by Steven J. Rolfes, Douglas R. Weise, Phil Lind

Theaters have always been the places where memories are made. There, on Saturday afternoons, children could escape the pressures of growing up to live for two hours in a fantasy world of daring heroes, dastardly villains, and dazzling magic. They were the places where awkward teenage boys could nervously, and often clumsily, put their arms around equally nervous girls. In years past, every neighborhood had its own local theater. Downtown was home to the great movie palaces, ornate portals to a world of motion picture thrills. For a unique experience, nothing could beat a hot summer night at the drive-in. Today, in the era of the corporate multiplex, the great movie palaces are just memories. Some neighborhood cinemas are now churches or venues for meetings, wedding receptions, and small concerts. Images of America: Cincinnati Theaters looks back at these marvelous old theaters and the days when they were in their prime.

128 pages, Paperback

First published February 8, 2016

Reviews

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

At one time Cincinnati had a lot of theaters, the first one opening around 1819 featuring minstrels in blackface. (For those of you too young to recognize the term, blackface is a most racist thing where white performers cover their face with a black material to make them appear to be colored. ) The theaters were used for entertainment in general, by the way. Movies came a lot later.

There was an opera house in the city but it burned down. There were a lot of other theaters but, one by one, they ended up being demolished or re-purposed. (Each of the theaters is gone into detail in the book.) There were two that involved sex, one a movie place and the other a burlesque place. Both were shut down by the anti-sex forces in the city. (A funny story is when a local retailer was going to have a lingerie show and the police were going to be there to make sure nothing was shown that shouldn't be shown, at least according to them.)

The suburb theaters are also covered and, like the ones downtown, most have met their demise. the 20th Century in Oakley is still here, specializing in musician performances. Drive-ins are also covered and. like the other theaters, have gone the way of the dinosaurs.

(The 20th Century is supposed to be haunted, by the way.)

A good book about the past.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool photos and background info. There's a picture and caption mislabeled though so now I don't know what all I believe. Cincinnati is blessed with beautiful theaters and a lovely theater community ❤️

[Jeff · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm a local. Nice to see some of the old neighborhoods. Mostly pictures. Very little about the history, architecture or the history surrounding the theaters' development. One thinks the authors had a photo collection they wanted to publish.