‘Welcome to Cleveland’… In Bay View

by

Milwaukee History

If you’re flying low into Mitchell International Airport and the wind is in the right direction, you will know you are close to Milwaukee when you see the “Welcome to Cleveland” sign located at 2893 S. Delaware Ave. It’s the infamous sign on the roof of Mark Gubin’s building, formerly the Bay Theatre.

In 1978 Gubin painted the sign, written in six-foot letters. He got the idea while having lunch with his assistant. Noticing all the low-flying planes that came by enroute to Cleveland, why not post a sign welcoming passengers to Milwaukee? Gubin never had a real purpose for having the display on the rooftop other than to have a little fun. Not once did Gubin receive a serious complaint from the airport or any airlines.

The sign became famous and made headlines in newspapers, magazines and other media including “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.” On flights from Denver to Cleveland that made stopovers in Milwaukee, a special announcement was made. Flight attendants had to inform passengers the sign was wrong and merely a stunt by the owner of a Milwaukee building. Gubin received a letter from City Council President Ben E. Johnson, informing him the sign was causing “outrage & panic” for some passengers. Nevertheless, the city never took action against Gubin’s antics.

From Lake to Bay

Built in 1926 by Peacock & Frank, three blocks from Lake Michigan, it was aptly named the Lake Theatre. It was renamed the Bay Theatre in the early ‘40s and operated by Standard Theatres. It had one screen and 970 curved wood-back and leather spring-cushioned seats. The seating was arranged in three banks which allowed for two aisles in the theater. The lobby had two regular staircases to the balcony and a beautifully tiled floor. Movies occupied the Bay Theatre until 1956. In 1970, Hank Landa, an engineering teacher with a minor in film studies, almost purchased the theater as a venue for vintage films. The purchase fell through. Determined to have that unique venue, he purchased an old grocery store in 1981 at 2138 E. Rusk Ave, across the street from the former Bay Theatre and named it the “Gallery Cinema”; it had a 60 seat capacity and was in business until 1990.

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A sound studio, a youth club and several other tenants made use of the Bay Theater until 1972 when a local photographer bought the theatre for a commercial studio and boarded over the marquee with signage “Mark Gubin Photography.” Gubin used the theater’s ambiance for photo shoots. The original stage lights and main floor seating provided intriguing large and small photo shoots.

Despite its age, the Welcome to Cleveland sign went viral in 2015, bringing Gubin renewed notoriety. Today the building sits intact, quietly in Bay View. From a reliable source, I was informed the projector room is now a sunken (pit) in the living area and now houses an antique fireplace in a very whimsical museum-like residence. I requested a tour many years ago, but was unable to get permission. The former Bay Theatre is definitely on my bucket list of buildings I would like to explore.