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Dec 6, 2015 · Detroit's ornate, eye-popping Fox Theatre, designed by C. Howard Crane, opened in 1928. It was a flagship movie palace in the Fox Theatres chain, and was once Detroit's premier movie...
It was designed by Percival R. Pereira, his only theatre built in the downtown area. The opening day movie was called “Blood Ship” starring Hobart Bosworth, and despite its title, was an adventure and not a horror movie! The theatre had a house orchestra in its early years, led by Frank Museal.
- Smyrna Theatre; Smyrna, Delaware
- Alhambra Theatre; San Francisco, California
- Plains Theatre; Roswell, New Mexico
- Webb Theatre; Gastonia, North Carolina
- Runnymede Theatre; Toronto, Ontario
- Loma Theatre; San Diego, California
- Rivoli Theatre; Berkeley, California
- Loew's Valencia Theatre; Queens, New York
“After the Great Depression there was really no money left to invest in grand movie palaces,” say Marchand and Meffre, “so the trend was in smaller, simpler theaters that were more Streamlined Moderne.” This was the case with Delaware’s Smyrna Theatre, a first-run, single screen theater that opened its doors in 1948. With only 600 seats—including a...
Anyone who has stepped inside San Francisco’s Castro Theatrewill recognize the same extravagant display of worldly influences still evident on the walls of the city’s former Alhambra Theatre. Prominent local architect Timothy L. Pflueger, the mastermind behind both venues, designed this 1,625-seat single-screen movie palace, which opened in 1926, a...
The 1,030-seat, single-screen Plains Theatre opened in Roswell in 1946, just a year before the most infamous incident in local history. It’s one of the reasons that Marchand and Meffre drove over 300 miles from Texas to photograph this particular space. In 1947, what many believe to be a “flying saucer” crash landed on a ranch just outside Roswell....
Gastonia architect Hugh Edward White designed the 826-seat, single-screen Webb Theatre in 1927, and this Moderne-style movie house showcased films until 1951, when the city purchased it for use as retail and storage. Thankfully, Gastonia kept the bulk of the space’s interior features—including both its embossed plasterwork and balcony—intact. Still...
What began as a venue for vaudeville stage shows and silent films now attracts shoppers in search of Lancôme skin care and bottles of Chanel N°5 eau de parfum. Architect Alfred Chapman designed the 1,550-seat theater as an “atmospheric theater,” say Marchand and Meffre. “It’s a style of theater that’s meant to feel open-air. The ceiling is painted ...
“This theater is interesting in that it was done by one of the most prominent theater architects on the West Coast,” say Meffre and Marchand. They’re talking about S. Charles Lee, who designed everything from LA’s terra-cotta Tower Theatre (now home to an Apple store) to Hollywood’s historic Max Factor Building, which currently houses the Hollywood...
With its ornately painted ceiling and molded wall pillars reminiscent of some far-off exotic locale, it’s evident that Berkeley’s 1,402-seat Rivoli Theatre was a movie palace built to impress. The single-screen theater opened in 1926 as part of the Golden State Theatre and Realty Corporation, which owned dozens of San Francisco Bay Area theaters ov...
“Most of the former theaters that have been lucky enough to be reused are reused as churches,” say Marchand and Meffre, “and the Loew's Valencia is probably one of the most beautiful.” Architect John Eberson, who is best known for designing close to 100 atmospheric-style theaters across the U.S. (many of which have sadly been destroyed), created th...
This was where Detroiters once flocked to a grand movie palace with a name that just screamed entertainment: the Hollywood Theatre. There was a time when Detroit had hundreds of theaters, many of them small but still fine places to see a show. But some were movie palaces—regal, ornate and each competing to out-overdo the next.
Dec 21, 2023 · Uncover the magic of 35 historic Michigan theaters! Explore architectural gems, discover captivating stories, and find your next unforgettable performance. From grand Detroit palaces to rural playhouses, experience the magic of live performance and journey through time.
This theater, located in Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood, once sat over 1000, and opened in 1927. It stood on Fenkell Street at the corner of Blackstone Street. The Irving was designed by the firm of Kohner & Payne, whose other Detroit movie houses included the Uptown and the John Eberson-inspired Ramona, both long gone.
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Oct 21, 2019 · Today, the United Artists Theatre in downtown Detroit is vacant, crumbling, its future uncertain, but on opening night in 1928, it was packed with “lots of high hats, plenty of low gowns and...
