[3] Constructed in a span of 19 months in the early 1920s, the theaters became a major entertainment hub for the city for much of the 20th century.

For this reason, the revival of Playhouse Square is often locally referred to as being "one of the top ten successes in Cleveland history.

Completed in early April 1921, Jules and Jay Allen's Pompeiian-style theater was sold to Loew's in 1922.

However, during the years following World War II, suburbanization and the rise of television led to the decline of the theaters.

In 1970, Raymond K. Shepardson, a Cleveland Public Schools employee, formed a non-profit group named the “Playhouse Square Association” with the Junior League of Cleveland, Inc.[2] The cover of the February 27, 1970 issue of Life was a two-page pull-out of James H. Daugherty's The Spirit of Cinema America, a mural in the State Theatre's lobby.

[5][11] Plans to raze the Ohio and the State Theatres in 1972 and 1977 caused a public outcry, and in 1973 the newly formed Playhouse Square Foundation obtained long-term leases for the Palace, Ohio and State Theatres, while Cuyahoga County commissioners purchased the Loews Building.

[2] Also in 1973, the musical revue Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris opened in the State Theatre lobby.

This acquisition made Playhouse Square the largest performing arts complex outside of New York in the United States, with more than 10,000 seats.

Playhouse Square is active in area development in order to give visitors a lively, welcoming and entertaining destination, while also creating a neighborhood with a robust business environment.

[16][17] In 2003, the area of East 14th Street near Playhouse Square was renamed Memory Lane-Bob Hope Way in honor of the longtime Cleveland resident to commemorate the entertainer's 100th birthday.

Opened in 2005, it is now the home for Playhouse Square's community engagement and education programs and the downtown headquarters for radio stations WKSU (simulcast over a regional network including WCPN) and WCLV, as well as TV station WVIZ, incorporated together as Ideastream Public Media.

Also in 2008, the Hanna Theatre underwent a thorough renovation with improvements to its stage including a new hydraulic lift system.

Through a collaboration called “The Power of Three,” Cleveland Play House, Cleveland State University and Playhouse Square partnered to create the Allen Theatre Complex, featuring a reconfigured Allen Theatre (re-opened 2011) and two new theaters that opened in 2012.

[20][21] Improvements to the Playhouse Square neighborhood - including a digital signage network, upgrades to U.S. Bank Plaza, a retro signage feature and the GE Chandelier, the world's largest outdoor chandelier, located above the intersection of Euclid Avenue and East 14th Street - were completed between April 2013 and April 2014, culminating in a ceremony on May 2, 2014, entitled "Dazzle the District.