Music Clubs & Night Clubs

Leo’s Casino

Leo’s first opened in 1952 at 4817 Central Avenue and was owned by Leo Frank. It operated as a bar, but later expanded to a jazz room. In 1962, Leo’s burned down, and in 1963, Frank opened Leo’s Casino at 7500 Euclid Avenue. The club was known for having racially mixed audiences despite high tensions in Cleveland in the 1960s and was a major stop on the Motown circuit. In 1970, Frank sold his share of the club to his business partner, Jules Berger, who operated the club until it closed permanently in 1972. Leo’s Casino was designated as a historical landmark by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on June 24, 1999, two weeks before Leo Frank’s death.

Resources

  • “Leo’s Casino.” Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. case.edu/ech/articles/l/leos-casino.
  • Williams, Bob, and Allen Howard. “Yule Eve Fire Razes Leo Casino, Abbott’s: 20 Persons Routed by $75,000 Blaze.” Call & Post. December 29, 1962.
4817 Central Ave

Tell us about Leo’s Casino

Many of the locations documented on Green Book Cleveland are not well-documented in the historical record. If you have additional information about Leo’s Casino, please let us know by sharing a memory, correction, or suggestion using the comment form below.

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2 thoughts on “Leo’s Casino

  1. This is NOT LEO’S CASINO…This is Jack’s
    Bar on 55th Cedar…Leo’s was on 77th Euclid Avenue…maybe I am wrong..I doubt it!!

    1. Thanks for your comment. This is indeed the original Leo’s Casino, which burned in 1962. It reopened on Euclid Avenue in 1963 at the location that you remember. Jack’s Bar looked similar to the old Leo’s shown here, mainly because both had prominent blade signs and stood on a corner, but look at the photo gallery on the essay about Jack’s at https://greenbookcleveland.org/locations/jacks-musical-bar/, and you’ll see that these are different buildings.

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