After the Final Curtain: Shea’s Theater, located in the heart of Downtown Ashtabula, Ohio, opened its doors in 1949 during the height of the city’s industrial boom. Designed by Michael J. DeAngelis in the Streamline Moderne style, the theater was a $1 million investment by M.A. Shea with seating for 1,530 guests.
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This theater is absolutely beautiful, there is a great deal of potential in this theater after years of it being broken down and utilized, even with the age showing in the building from its years of use, and famous stars that have passed by (Such as the Polka King) that there is so much beauty within the Shea’s Theatre. The story of the theater is something even more compelling, as they go into detail describing the highs and lows of the surrounding theater scene and how that affected the Shea’s and sent it into the far disrepair that it is in now. There is something that is still so incredibly beautiful and enticing about the theater, specifically focusing on all the detail work of the theater. From the color scheme, to the use of exposed brick, and the delicate greek artwork to act opposite to some elements of the harsh interior. Truly this building is such a work of art, and I can’t believe that they haven't picked up this project earlier.
I’m really glad I was able to come across this article. Since I was in middle school, me and my family would go to Lake Erie to see my mom’s side of the family and we would stay in Geneva on the Lake, Ohio which was about 10 to 15 minutes away from Ashtabula. I had no idea this theatre existed until now. I think it’s great that Ashtabula was once a home to a pretty successful theatre and now that the current owner plans to revive it. I’ll be honest, lately when I have gone up to Geneva, there’s not much left for me to do as there are a lot more children’s activities. I think this restoration would be a really big benefit as there aren't really many theatres nearby. Like I also mentioned before with the many children’s activities, it also would be a great way to expose children to a live theatre setting.
Reading about Shea’s Theatre felt like exploring a ghost of something once vibrant and alive. The photos of its faded interior carry so much emotion, almost like they are whispering the stories of people who used to gather there. There is a haunting beauty in the cracked paint and empty seats that reflect the passage of time more honestly than any restoration could. What struck me most was how much love the photographer had for the place even in decay. It is easy to look at old buildings as lost causes, but the article made me see them as memory keepers that quietly hold onto pieces of history. It makes me think about how many towns had theaters like this that were the heart of their communities before they were forgotten. These spaces deserve to be remembered because they represent the connection between art and everyday life, and losing them feels like losing a piece of who we are collectively.
While it’s always tragic to see a theater close, I love watching an old unused building be turned into something else. When I was much younger, I was on crew for a youth theater at my local recreation center. There was a lot of talk about building a new recreation center building and theater along with it and I guess I just assumed it would never happen, but it did. The new building was nicer I guess and didn’t have as many ceiling leaks but I missed the hominess of our old space. That theater I’d grown up in was the original theater their company started in, all to be so quickly replaced. For approximately five seconds they used that building as some variation of homeless shelter, but then the city realised it increased the local homeless population and kicked everyone out and demolished the building. (Booooo bad move!) Now there’s complaints about how high the homeless population is in my old hometown, (duh there’s homeless people you literally gave them a place to live, said jk you’re back on the streets, and demolished the entire building so now we have a really awesome dirt pile to look at.) To simplify, I think we should renovate more old and unused buildings. I also think the modern dehumanisation of homeless people is crazy. We literally have buildings we’re not using. Why don’t we just share? Oh yeah because then it’s annoying when they want to be accepted as a part of the community. Cool, that makes sense.
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