The CEDAR LEE THEATRE (2163 Lee Rd.) came into being on 25-Dec. 1925, only four years after CLEVELAND HTS. became a city. The main attraction was The King on Main Street, a silent romantic-comedy starring Adolphe Menjou. Three shorts—30 Years Ago, The Marionettes, and A Trip Thru Kimballville—also were shown.
The Cedar Lee was designed by Nicola Petti (1880-1929), a local architect who also designed Cleveland’s LaSalle and Variety theaters (1927) along with numerous structures in Cleveland's LITTLE ITALY neighborhood. The building also contained a bowling alley and, later, Wally’s Pool Hall, a home away from home for sharks of all ages, including wayward students from nearby Cleveland Hts. High School.
Like most theaters of the time, the 2-story Cedar Lee began as a large (1,100-seat), single-screen venue. For five decades, it offered mostly first-run movies, with weekend-afternoon showings of kids’ movies and cartoons.
In 1977 it was purchased by Jon Forman, owner/president of newly formed Cleveland Cinemas. Forman focused on screenings of foreign and independent films, as well as monthly midnight showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Also in 1977, the Cedar Lee became the site of the CLEVELAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, where the event remained until 1991 when it moved to Tower City Cinemas (also part of Cleveland Cinemas chain). In 1983, the Cedar Lee was split into two screens. Two more were added in 1991. By 1994 it reached six theaters.
Tower City Cinemas closed in 2020 and the Cleveland International Film Festival returned to the Cedar Lee, with additional screenings at PLAYHOUSE SQUARE. When it’s not hosting the Festival, the Cedar Lee now intersperses traditional art and foreign films with first-run productions.
Christopher Roy