Read the original The Land article by Unity Powell here.
The Moreland Theater, a fixture in Cleveland’s Buckeye neighborhood, is set to receive much-needed renovation following a $300,000 grant from the Cleveland City Council. The funding, awarded to Burten, Bell, Carr Development, Inc. (BBC), will support the restoration of five vacant ground-floor storefronts and 6,500-square-feet of office space in the theater’s historic building on Buckeye Road.
Originally opened in 1928, the Moreland Theater was designed by the architectural firm Braverman & Havermaet. In its early years, it served as a vibrant entertainment venue, hosting vaudeville performances and silent films. The surrounding Buckeye neighborhood, home to a large Hungarian immigrant community at the time, found a cultural hub in the theater.
Over the decades, the Moreland Theater went through multiple transitions. Financial struggles led to periodic closures and revivals. A brief attempt to rebrand it as a musical dinner theater, the Players Theatre Café, in 1963, was short-lived. The building’s most enduring chapter began in 1978 when the Church of God in Christ (CGC) acquired it, using the space for nearly 30 years—the longest any tenant has occupied the theater.
This latest round of funding is part of a broader revitalization effort aimed at preserving the Buckeye neighborhood’s historic character while encouraging new economic and cultural growth. The restoration of the Moreland Theater is being recognized as one of the neighborhood’s largest contributions to arts and culture to date. Joy Johnson, executive director of Burten, Bell, Carr Development Inc., expressed her vision for the theater’s future, saying, “I feel like it should become a place where we can see Black arts and culture come alive. In my dreams, there’s music. There’s dancing. There’s theater.”
Earl McNary, owner of Earl’s Xclusive Cuts, also shared his optimism for the theater’s revival, stating, “I’ve got faith in Buckeye. I think it’s gonna come back.” He’s seen the area changed over the years and several small businesses open and close.
Organizations like A Greater Buckeye have emphasized the importance of this investment, calling the grant “a powerful step forward in preserving history and building a brighter future for Buckeye.”
In summer 2025 the much-anticipated renovation of the Moreland Theater will begin. This project is expected to have three phases with the first phase concentrating on repairing the exterior and redesigning the commercial spaces inside the theater.
The main theater performance space will be restored in the second phase, however this will depend on obtaining further funds. The full renovation and expansion will take five to ten years. This project is part of a larger $18 million effort to turn Buckeye Road into a thriving arts and culture and business district, and local leaders see the theater as a key piece of that vision.