Cleveland Clinic to demolish ex-Cleveland Play House

Featuring three theaters around a central rotunda, the 1984 renovation
of the Cleveland Play House and inclusion of the former Sears depart-
ment store resulted in the largest regional theater complex in the Uni-
ted States totaling nearly 300,000 square feet. But since CPH moved
to the Allen Theater downtown in 2011, Cleveland Clinic Foundation
has struggled to find a new use for the facility which is to be razed
(Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Redesigned by a world-famous architect in his hometown. Site of the first stage performances by the Clevelander who made The Wicked Witch of the West famous. Shaker Heights native Paul Newman and many other notable actors also got their starts at the place once called the 86th Street Theater.

According to two sources, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation will seek to demolish all structures that were once part of the Cleveland Play House (CPH), 8500 Euclid Ave. That includes the adjacent former Sears department store along Carnegie Avenue. Demolition could occur this winter.

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