“This has been the sole venue for all of the Michigan Opera Theater Productions”? Not by a long shot. Since its first full length production in 1970 until it moved into its present location in 1996, the Detroit Opera Theater performed in a variety of Detroit venues including the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Masonic Auditorium, the Fisher Theatre, and most especially, the Music Hall, which was its home for many years and was the first former movie theater that the DOT restored and saved from demolition. Whoever wrote that Detroit History article is very misinformed.
Also, that picture above is a little misleading; it shows really what is the rear wall of the theater, part of the new stagehouse that was part of the renovation of the former Grand Circus into the Detroit Opera House.
The tragedy though, is that so many other once nearby similarly grand palaces – especially the Madison, the Michigan, the United Artists, and the Adams – are either gone or probably beyond rehabilitation.
According to a a newsletter recently sent by the councilwoman who represents the Corona Del Mar area, the seismic retrofitting and other improvements are progressing and that she expects the theater to reopen by the end of 2011: View link
Unfortunately, the link to the story in the Post Bulletin is now basically dead and only accessible as an archival item which requires a subscription (I hate the news sites that do this).
There is something a bit odd about this; I had posted the original version of the story about the closing which did not mention anything about a bankruptcy or about the acquisition of the theater by Florida-based Paragon. The story was then updated on the Post Bulletin site to mention the Paragon acquisition. As I recall, the original story quoted the owner to the effect that theater was not doing well due overscreening in the area. The news about Paragon buying this theater and the Odyssey 15 in Burnsville /theaters/32903/, also a former CineMagic operation, broke yesterday. Whether this purchase was in the works before the CineMagic suddenly closed it or if Paragon (which is currently a fairly small operator) suddenly saw or was alerted to an opportunity to acquire two, fairly new multiplexes, perhaps at a fire-sale price, is unclear.
One of the pictures on its gallery page at Drive-ins.com confirms the showing of the films Mike mentioned in his comment above: http://www.drive-ins.com/gallery/gatathe
This theater is now the Odyssey 15 and has been acquired by Paragon Theaters of Coconut Grove, FL. It will be briefly closed soon for renovations and upgrades: View link. It is already indicated on the Paragon website: http://www.paragontheaters.com/
This theater has been acquired by Paragon Theaters of Coconut Grove, Florida. Paragon is planning to renovate and upgrade the theater before reopening it: View link
This the theater where I saw “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” for the first time, and I have never lost my fondness for the luminescent Audrey Hepburn after seeing that delightful film.
This theater must date way back; I spent most of my life in Michigan and know Lapeer and I have never heard of it. Lapeer is a rather small town; I am wondering if it is an old name for the Lyric or the Pix or was perhaps an old nickelodeon that has vanished. Or, is it possible that this Ideal has been confused with the one that used to be in Flushing, MI or Ideal/Folly Theater that once was in Flint?
There are pictures of the theater and memorabilia on its page at Drive-ins.com: http://www.drive-ins.com/gallery/kstleaw This was a very elegant drive-in, with its screen tower and signage done in an unusual (for a drive-in) colonial style.
My memory is a little hazy on this, but I think I recall reading somewhere that Essaness, a theater chain that used to own dozens of theaters, especially in the greater Chicagoland area, was a rendering of “S and S” – Silverman and Silverman.
On its page at Drive-ins.com, there is a copy of this theater’s opening night advertisement and a photo with a caption of some of the damage caused by the storm that wrecked the theater (probably the same one mentioned in the headnote): http://www.drive-ins.com/gallery/nytnite
An old photo of this theatre: http://tinyurl.com/4djq68s
There is a picture of the Palace Theatre here; it was for sale at the time the picture was taken: http://tinyurl.com/4b48gp4
Correction: The Charles I-II-III survived a battering by Hurricane Rita in 2005; it was unaffected by Katrina.
“This has been the sole venue for all of the Michigan Opera Theater Productions”? Not by a long shot. Since its first full length production in 1970 until it moved into its present location in 1996, the Detroit Opera Theater performed in a variety of Detroit venues including the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Masonic Auditorium, the Fisher Theatre, and most especially, the Music Hall, which was its home for many years and was the first former movie theater that the DOT restored and saved from demolition. Whoever wrote that Detroit History article is very misinformed.
Also, that picture above is a little misleading; it shows really what is the rear wall of the theater, part of the new stagehouse that was part of the renovation of the former Grand Circus into the Detroit Opera House.
The tragedy though, is that so many other once nearby similarly grand palaces – especially the Madison, the Michigan, the United Artists, and the Adams – are either gone or probably beyond rehabilitation.
According to a a newsletter recently sent by the councilwoman who represents the Corona Del Mar area, the seismic retrofitting and other improvements are progressing and that she expects the theater to reopen by the end of 2011: View link
Unfortunately, the link to the story in the Post Bulletin is now basically dead and only accessible as an archival item which requires a subscription (I hate the news sites that do this).
There is something a bit odd about this; I had posted the original version of the story about the closing which did not mention anything about a bankruptcy or about the acquisition of the theater by Florida-based Paragon. The story was then updated on the Post Bulletin site to mention the Paragon acquisition. As I recall, the original story quoted the owner to the effect that theater was not doing well due overscreening in the area. The news about Paragon buying this theater and the Odyssey 15 in Burnsville /theaters/32903/, also a former CineMagic operation, broke yesterday. Whether this purchase was in the works before the CineMagic suddenly closed it or if Paragon (which is currently a fairly small operator) suddenly saw or was alerted to an opportunity to acquire two, fairly new multiplexes, perhaps at a fire-sale price, is unclear.
The latest episode in the saga of the Beach 4: View link
A picture of the closed Majestic: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/274017
Pictures on its gallery page at Drive-ins.com show what remained of this drive-in in 2004: http://www.drive-ins.com/gallery/gatburf
There are several pictures of this drive-in on its gallery page at Drive-ins.com: http://www.drive-ins.com/gallery/gatcair
Old postcard view: View link
The sign for the Idle Hour Theater can be seen at the left of this old postcard view of Main Street in Crawfordsville: View link
One of the pictures on its gallery page at Drive-ins.com confirms the showing of the films Mike mentioned in his comment above: http://www.drive-ins.com/gallery/gatathe
This theater has closed and is apparently for sale: http://www.times-gazette.com/news/article/4973082
A picture of some of the statues is here: View link and exterior photo is here: View link
This theater is now the Odyssey 15 and has been acquired by Paragon Theaters of Coconut Grove, FL. It will be briefly closed soon for renovations and upgrades: View link. It is already indicated on the Paragon website: http://www.paragontheaters.com/
This theater has been acquired by Paragon Theaters of Coconut Grove, Florida. Paragon is planning to renovate and upgrade the theater before reopening it: View link
This the theater where I saw “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” for the first time, and I have never lost my fondness for the luminescent Audrey Hepburn after seeing that delightful film.
This theater must date way back; I spent most of my life in Michigan and know Lapeer and I have never heard of it. Lapeer is a rather small town; I am wondering if it is an old name for the Lyric or the Pix or was perhaps an old nickelodeon that has vanished. Or, is it possible that this Ideal has been confused with the one that used to be in Flushing, MI or Ideal/Folly Theater that once was in Flint?
There is a small picture of the interior of this cinema on this Facebook page: http://tinyurl.com/64bfah9
There are pictures and some additional information on this webpage: View link
There are pictures of the theater and memorabilia on its page at Drive-ins.com: http://www.drive-ins.com/gallery/kstleaw This was a very elegant drive-in, with its screen tower and signage done in an unusual (for a drive-in) colonial style.
The link to the story cited above has stopped working, but this link will take you to a story with similar information: View link
My memory is a little hazy on this, but I think I recall reading somewhere that Essaness, a theater chain that used to own dozens of theaters, especially in the greater Chicagoland area, was a rendering of “S and S” – Silverman and Silverman.
On its page at Drive-ins.com, there is a copy of this theater’s opening night advertisement and a photo with a caption of some of the damage caused by the storm that wrecked the theater (probably the same one mentioned in the headnote): http://www.drive-ins.com/gallery/nytnite