Playhouse Square is a theater district in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is the largest performing arts center in the US outside of New York City (only Lincoln Center is larger). Constructed in a span of 19 months in the early 1920s, the theaters were subsequently closed down, but were revived through a grassroots effort. Their renovation and reopening helped usher in a new era of downtown revitalization in Cleveland, and was called "one of the top ten successes in Cleveland history." History Construction Following World War I, local developer Joseph Laronge, who had previously opened the Stillman movie house on East 12th street, envisioned a row of theaters on Euclid Avenue between East 14th and East 17th streets. Laronge and New York City business magnate Marcus Loew, among others, founded a partnership called Loew's Ohio Theatres to develop the area. The organization's first two theaters, the Ohio and State (now known as the KeyBank State), were designed by eminent architect Thomas W. Lamb in the Italianate style. It was considered essential for the theaters' marquees to face Euclid Avenue, but because of space constraints the State Theatre was built at the back of the lot, although its lobby shares the Euclid frontage with the Ohio Theatre. Construction began in 1920, and the pair opened in early February 1921. Across Euclid Avenue, Charles A. Platt's Hanna Theatre, part of the Hanna Building complex, opened in late March 1921. Although the theater faces East 14th Street, it is still part of Playhouse Square. It was named for the prominent Cleveland Senator Mark Hanna. Meanwhile, the Bulkley Building housing the C. Howard Crane-designed Allen Theatre was being built next door. Completed in early April 1921, Jules and Jay Allen's Pompeiian-style theater was sold to Loew's in 1922. The last theater to be constructed was the Palace Theatre, now known as the Connor Palace, opening in November 1922 in the Keith Building, which at the time was the tallest in Cleveland. There was a great promotion for the theater's opening: the largest electric sign in the world was turned on to show that the Palace was open for business. Built by Edward F. Albee in honor of his friend and business partner, B.F.Keith, the Palace was billed as the “Showplace of the World.” Headlining the opener was America's favorite mimic, Elsie Janis, who shared billing with Eduardo Cansino, Rita Hayworth's father. Albee