Page 25 - Summer 2022 inLEAGUE with 46th National Conference Program

WEDNESDAY Theatre Tours
Gordon Square District
10:45AM-12:45PM

The Gordon Square Arts District’s vibrancy is driven by arts and culture.

It’s where our diverse neighbors live and
thrive. It’s where entrepreneurs create small businesses, from art galleries to pinball parlors to handmade
leather goods to wonderful restaurants. It is also where Northeast Ohioans come to experience some of the
most remarkable art in our region—not just at
Cleveland Public Theatre—but also at Maelstrom
Collaborative Arts, 78th Street Studios, Near West
Theatre, and so many more.

This convergence of arts and community
development has long been the dream
(and plan) of Cleveland Public Theatre. As
the first major anchor of our neighborhood
revitalization, CPT has been working to transform
the neighborhood since the early 80s! In 1999,
Founder James Levin reached out to Detroit
Shoreway Community Development Organization
with a vision of Gordon Square as an arts district.
With James’ leadership, Gordon Square Arts
District was born and Near West Theatre joined
the partnership. A collaborative capital campaign led by Matt Zone, Albert Ratner, Dick Pogue, and Tom
Sullivan transformed the physical properties of the neighborhood, stabilized our anchor arts assets, and led to
an economic revitalization.

Today, more than 80 new businesses are thriving in the neighborhood. Gordon Square Arts District spans west
to 78th Street Studios, home to dozens of art galleries and studios, and east to include Talespinner Children’s
Theatre and Maelstrom Collaborative Arts. Gordon Square Arts District is an incredible model for how long-term
investment in the arts can not only change lives, but also change our neighborhoods!

The Capitol Theatre first opened April 8, 1921, as a
silent movie house with a Wurlitzer organ, part of the
larger Gordon Square Arcade complex. The theater
featured a large, 1,400 seat main auditorium and
provided a romantic backdrop to the quickly-growing
neighborhood: many residents report it was the location
of choice for first dates. In the 1930s, the Capitol was
converted to a “talkie.” As the neighborhood’s fortunes
declined in the second half of the 20th century, the
Arcade complex deteriorated as well. The Capitol closed
in the early 1980s due to water infiltration and lack of any
climate control system.

Efforts to restore the Gordon Square Arcade began in the early 1980s when Detroit Shoreway Community
Development Organization (DSCDO) secured one of the country’s first Urban Development Action Grants
to replace the roof and stabilize the building. With the advent of federal New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC)
in the early 2000s, it became possible to assemble a financing package for the Capitol, which was also a
centerpiece of the Gordon Square Arts District capital campaign. The $7.5 million renovation project began in
2008 and the Capitol re-opened in October 2009 as a three-screen, all digital movie theater.

46th National Conference & Theatre Tour July 2022 INLEAGUE | PAGE 23