Pines Theatre
4673 W. Houghton Lake Drive,
Houghton Lake,
MI
48629
4673 W. Houghton Lake Drive,
Houghton Lake,
MI
48629
9 people
favorited this theater
This 450-seat Log Cabin Chalet style movie theatre was designed by C. Howard Crane to look like a hunter’s cabin.
Originally opened in 1941 by W.J. Olson, who owned many theaters in michigan at the time, the Pines Theatre features 40-foot cathedral log ceilings, a parkay wood floor, and a large collection of trophy game animals.
Contributed by
Adam Fraser
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Recent comments (view all 12 comments)
I was told by more than one person years back that this theater was all hand notched with a double bladed axe by one man during construction. It is a shame there is no photo of the outside on this page. I have seen many movies here as a kid and remember it well though I have not seen it in 25 years, now living in Oklahoma. It is one of a kind and stands as the prime example of the prefered style of the entire area from many years ago.
There are many pictures of this theatre on the cinema tours site. This is a very nice theatre. I would like to see it.
Here is a recent 2006 photo of the Pines theater.
Another recent 2006 photo of the Pines Theater can be seen here.
The novel and warm design of this Michigan theater is too beautiful for words and deserves another go-‘round under the “Recent Comments” section. Check out the Pines pix provided by LM on 7/12 and 7/24. All that’s missing (to make yours truly feel cooler) is the marquee featuring “The Thing From Another World” and “Iceman” plus 2 feet of freshly fallen snow…
This is quite quaint and so very different in a log cabin design which may be the only one in existence!
The year given for this photo is 1979
Very nice.
Theatre Historical Society will be visiting this theater during our 2011 Conclave – “The Michigan Roads Less Traveled” June 21-25. See the website for details www.historictheatres.org
The Pines was featured in this 1941 trade article, which is dated the day prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor: boxofficemagazine