Regal/Casino Theater, West End, Cincinnati, OH
Another isolated historic building in the lower West End, the old Casino/Regal Theatre is the only remaining historic structure on its block. Constructed in 1913, the Classical Revival-style building was designed by Zettel and Rapp, who also designed the State/Metropolitan Theatre nearby. It originally opened as a vaudeville theatre with 1,500 seats, but became a moving picture house by the 1920s. Sometime in the late 1930s or early 1940s, the theatre was renamed the Regal to remove the negative connotations of the "Casino" name, a move likely made due to the furthering of the decline of the surrounding neighborhood at this point in the eyes of the general Cincinnati public. The theatre remained in operation through the urban renewal and large-scale clearance of the surrounding urban fabric for Interstate 75, the Queensgate Industrial Park, several low-income housing projects, and the widening of major thoroughfares, finally closing in 1996. The building has remained vacant since then, and is in dire need of restoration, and has been stabilized by the Hamilton County Land Bank in order to keep it salvageable for future reuse. Hopefully, with the continued revitalization of the surrounding inner city neighborhoods and the final completion of the nearby City West development, this building can be reopened and once again become a community asset.
Regal/Casino Theater, West End, Cincinnati, OH
Another isolated historic building in the lower West End, the old Casino/Regal Theatre is the only remaining historic structure on its block. Constructed in 1913, the Classical Revival-style building was designed by Zettel and Rapp, who also designed the State/Metropolitan Theatre nearby. It originally opened as a vaudeville theatre with 1,500 seats, but became a moving picture house by the 1920s. Sometime in the late 1930s or early 1940s, the theatre was renamed the Regal to remove the negative connotations of the "Casino" name, a move likely made due to the furthering of the decline of the surrounding neighborhood at this point in the eyes of the general Cincinnati public. The theatre remained in operation through the urban renewal and large-scale clearance of the surrounding urban fabric for Interstate 75, the Queensgate Industrial Park, several low-income housing projects, and the widening of major thoroughfares, finally closing in 1996. The building has remained vacant since then, and is in dire need of restoration, and has been stabilized by the Hamilton County Land Bank in order to keep it salvageable for future reuse. Hopefully, with the continued revitalization of the surrounding inner city neighborhoods and the final completion of the nearby City West development, this building can be reopened and once again become a community asset.