Garden Theatre

118 N. Washington Square,
Lansing, MI 48933

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Additional Info

Previous Names: Meads Hall, Downtown Theatre, Star Theatre

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Circa 1920 photo credit Lansing Public Library.

Via the Lansing Public Library: The Garden Theatre was located at 118 N. Washington Avenue and also went by the names Meads Hall, Downtown Theatre & Star Theatre. Opened as Meads Hall in 1866 and hosted several well known theatre acts as well as many of Americas finest orators. In 1876 the hall was the site of the local Centennial. In the late-1890’s due to increasing competition, the popularity of Meads Hall began to wane.

By 1914 it was operating as the Garden Theatre. It was listed as (Closed) in 1943. The building was demolished on October 1, 1971, together with the smaller Orpheum Theatre located two doors away.

Contributed by David Zornig

Recent comments (view all 3 comments)

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on March 9, 2018 at 5:39 pm

3 photos added courtesy of the Lansing Public Library.

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on July 10, 2020 at 7:43 am

Demolished October 1, 1971, article added credit The State Journal, via Kurt Wannamaker. More photos can be seen on the Orpheum page gallery, since they were two doors apart. It should be noted that the right hand second story windows of the Garden/Mead’s Hall had been updated sometime before 1944 and remained that way until it’s demolition.

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/57326

BobHollberg
BobHollberg on August 1, 2021 at 8:47 am

In the 1930s, Poverty Row movies that never made it to the Detroit area often had their Michigan premiere at this theater. These movies included Law of the Rio Grande (1931, Bob Custer); Tombstone Canyon (1932, Ken Maynard); Gigolettes of Paris (1933, Madge Bellamy); The Woman Condemned (1934, Claudia Dell); and Rich Relations (1937, Ralph Forbes). (Source: Newspapers.com)

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