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Community Development And Participation

Raymond Shepardson

In the 1970s, theaters around Ohio that had been sparkling stops for the vaudeville circuit for decades had become dilapidated and forgotten to the cities where they resided. An education administrator at the time, Raymond Shepardson discovered the crumbling walls and faded Italian Renaissance design of Cleveland’s State Theatre and, though it was slated for demolition, immediately began a crusade to save it. By 1984, these historic buildings of downtown Cleveland, destined to become parking lots, were lit up again with Broadway shows, legitimate theatre and a wide variety of arts and entertainment.

Today, Playhouse Square is the second largest performing arts center in the country and the world’s largest theater restoration project. In what has been cited as the single most important development for Cleveland in the 20th century, Shepardson’s work revitalized not only the theater but the heart of the Rust Belt city. On average, more than one million patrons attend more than 1,000 events at Playhouse Square each year, helping to create an exciting downtown atmosphere that also pumps more than $60 million into the local economy every year.

Shepardson’s initial success in Cleveland was followed by many others. In 1979, he helped restore the Palace Theatre in Columbus, which was designed by renowned architect Thomas Lamb in 1926. What started as a spark in Cleveland launched a passion across America as theaters in Seattle, St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, San Antonio, Minneapolis, Los Angeles and others – 35 in all – have been saved by Shepardson’s involvement.

In 2008, Case Western Reserve University granted Shepardson an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters for his lifelong devotion to community development around the arts. Through his monumental efforts, he has not only recreated the original atmosphere of some of the country’s grandest theaters, but he has regenerated a local enthusiasm for the arts and all they have to offer.

Raymond Shepardson video tribute (6:05 minutes)