The Saga of Loretta

Loretta was one of two live parrots "hired" to greet patrons on Akron Loew's Theater when the doors first opened on April 20, 1929.

Like most macaws, she was prone to bouts of feistiness.  When an unlucky customer got a bit too familiar, she rebuked him by sharply attacking his finger.  The man, feeling a bit miffed by this unfriendly display, sued the theatre for damages.  The case was settled out of court.  However, Loreta mysteriously expired at this same time.  It is speculation that her untimely demise was part of the settlement.

She was stuffed and placed in the most visible place in the theatre- at the top of the grand staircase in the lobby.  There she still sits on her perch, surveying her regal domain.  Her tail feathers have falled our and she was spray painter for a more colorful look at some point.  Still- she has survived the years to greet the Akron Civic Theatre's thousands of customers.

The Akron Civic Theatre has also survived, with similar feistiness, and has grown to flourish ovet the past years. Loretta is an appropriate symbol of theis determination!