Almont Theater
219 S. Main Street,
Almont,
MI
48003
219 S. Main Street,
Almont,
MI
48003
2 people
favorited this theater
Showing 4 comments
Between the 1930s and 1950s my grandfather Albert S. “Al” Johnson built or remodeled at least sixty-four theater and drive-in jobs in Michigan. Family records show that the Almont Theatre was one of these, but the project date was not recorded.
The accompanying Kodachrome slide of the theater, which he shot in June 1948, shows a characteristic small town theater of the type he built throughout Michigan in the 1940’s. The exterior has the porcelain-like exterior tiles and a cream and red color scheme, which typify his theaters of the era.
The front doors, red with paired half-moon glass, are a type that our grandfather was said to have patented, and were known as “Johnson doors.” It’s my guess that Johnson built this theater sometime in the 1940s.
Found another Tina Slover review,“WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO AUNT ALICE?” It played the Almont from Friday-Sunday,stating,“the audience thought it was boring,They couldn’t keep track of the story,It was not as good as we played it up to be”.Ruth Gordon stars.
Just a tiny bit of history from BOxoffice,March 1970.Manager of the Almont,Tina Slover said of “ME,NATALIE” that played the Almont it was “beautiful and revealing story” Patty Duke Starred.
Growing up in Almont in the 1970s and early 80s, I have seen several films here. Even then, most of these were second-run or kids' movies, often interrupted by the seemingly constant projection problems. The theatre was already clearly in decline, but its sleek, once-beautiful mid-century modern design was still in evidence. Almont’s theatre closed sometime in either the late 1970s or very early 1980s, after which it went through several reincarnations that I understand brought a great deal of “redesign.” It still stands, empty and without its sleek marquee; I, for one, would love to see it restored to the glory I always imagined it possessed before my time, but it seems unlikely.