Category: Recreation and Popular Culture

MOVIE THEATERS   From nickelodeons to multiplexes, the evolution of motion picture houses in Cleveland reflects national trends. The Empire Theater (opened on Huron Rd. in 1900) was built for vaudeville, but it interspersed cinema as early as 1901, when customers viewed a short film of Queen Victoria’s funeral.

MR. JINGELING (1956 - Present) was a Christmas tradition in Cleveland, Ohio originally created to promote toys sold at HALLE’S DEPARTMENT STORE. Mr. Jingeling was an immediate success, and remained a Cleveland tradition for over half a century 

MUSICARNIVAL opened on 25 June 1954 as one of the first summer tent theaters in the United States. It featured musicals, operas, operettas, and jazz and rock concerts on its circular stage before closing in August 1975.

NEAR WEST THEATRE, an OHIO CITY-based community theatre and arts program, was founded in 1977 in the club building of ST. PATRICK'S PARISH. Founders Father Bob Scullin, of St.

NEWSOME, CARMAN SUMNER (21 Jun 1912 - 17 Jul 1974), teenage cowboy, movie star of the late 1930s, musician, and leader of a prominent Cleveland jazz band, was born in Stafford, Kansas. 

NORTH CHAGRIN RESERVATION, located between Chardon Road to the north and Mayfield Road to the south on the northeast edge of Cuyahoga County, is one of the original metropolitan park areas in Greater Cleveland's "Emerald Necklace," as first described by city park engineer WILLIAM STINCHCOMB in 1916.

The OHIO AND ERIE CANAL RESERVATION, opened by the CLEVELAND METROPARKS in 1999, follows a 4.3-mile stretch of the former OHIO AND ERIE CANAL between contemporary Harvard Avenue and Rockside Road, which includes parts of Cleveland, CUYAHOGA HEIGHTS and VALLEY VIEW.

The OHIO THEATER, 1511 Euclid Ave., opened on 14 Feb. 1921. Its architect was Thos. Lamb and its interior decorator, Philip Garbo. The Ohio was built by the Fleishman Constr. Co. of New York. Originally designed as a legitimate theater, it was decorated in the Italian Renaissance style with an elegant green-and-ivory color scheme. In the foyer, 3 murals by Italian artist Sampitrotti depicted the story of Venus.

OTTO MOSER'S, one of Cleveland's best known restaurants, was located for just over a century at 2044 E. 4th St. before moving to PLAYHOUSE SQUARE. According to the most reliable sources, the restaurant was founded by Otto F. Moser in 1893. At that date, E. 4th St.

The PALACE THEATER, located at Euclid Ave. and E. 17th St., represented the high point of development in PLAYHOUSE SQUARE when it opened 6 Nov. 1922. Originally named Keith's Palace Theater by owner/impresario Edward Albee in memorial to his business partner, B. F.

PARKER, ADELE von OHL (13 Dec. 1885 - 21 Jan.

PARKS. Not until the 1870s were public funds allocated to establish parks. Cleveland in its early years was surrounded by wilderness, and city leaders saw no urgency to secure parkland beyond the 9.5-acre PUBLIC SQUARE set aside as early as 1796.

PATRIOTIC SOCIETIES, organizations formed to honor early American settlers, their deeds, and their legacy, are composed of men or women whose ancestral lineage meets strict eligibility rules. The earliest in Cleveland was the New England Society of Cleveland & the Western Reserve, organized on 22 Dec.

The PHILOSOPHICAL CLUB OF CLEVELAND is an exclusive organization whose members convene biweekly for dinner and the reading and discussion of papers on a variety of personal interests but concentrating on the topics of sociology, business and economics, arts and humanities, government, and science.

POLKAS. American polka music evolved as a hybrid of folk songs and dances brought by European immigrants, with influences from other musical expressions. The term has come to encompass waltzes, schottisches, quicksteps, mazurkas, and other ethnic dances. Cleveland has been called "America's Polka Capital" and was identified with a particular style of polka music that has been widely copied.

PRICE, JOHN L., Jr., (29 May 1920 - 20 June 2012) was one of Cleveland's preeminent theatrical showmen in the decades following World War II.

The PROFESSIONAL MEN'S CLUB OF CLEVELAND, an invitational organization for men, was preceded by the Cleveland Chapter of the Intl. Assn. of Torch Clubs, Inc.

The PUERTO RICAN FRIENDLY DAY PARADE OF GREATER CLEVELAND first began in 1969.

PURITAS SPRINGS PARK, a popular west side amusement resort for 60 years, was built in 1898 by John E. Gooding of Painesville. It was located on the north side of Puritas Rd., overlooking the Rocky River Valley.

RABB, JOSEPH EDWARD (26 March 1914 - 28 Dec. 1996) created a romantic persona as an exponent of gypsy music. The son of Joseph and Esther Szücs Rabb was born in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and brought to Cleveland as an infant. Raised in Cleveland's Hungarian community (see HUNGARIANS), he was a graduate of John Adams High School.