United Artists Theatre
150 Bagley Street,
Detroit,
MI
48226
150 Bagley Street,
Detroit,
MI
48226
23 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 74 comments
Greetings. It is both wistful and inspiring that so many of you have fond recollections of the Detroit UA Theater. I often wondered why the theater was shut down during the summers back in the 1930s and 40s. Other Kinsky theaters or United Detroit Theaters were “comfortably cool inside.” Why not the UA? Also, with so many recollections about films shown at the UA during it’s roadshow decades, let’s not forget the first run showing of The Guns of Navarone (not a hard ticket) and the downtown presentation (after its premiere at the Mercury Theater on Schafer and W. McNichols) of The Longest Day.
More regarding the United Artists: The theater’s mezzanine was altered to include a new projection room for the presentation of Todd-AO films, the first being “Oklahoma!.” It had been discovered with the screening of this film in New York that projecting the film at the extreme angle from high at the back of the Rivoli theater resulted in severe keystoning of the image on the screen. “Straight on” projection from the Rivoli’s lower level eliminated this problem and mezzanine placement of the projectors in Detroit was done before the Todd-AO films were screened. “Oklahoma!” was also available in optically corrected prints to compensate for keystoning but this “correction” also somewhat altered the original framing on the film itself, giving us not what the camera originally “saw.” Most cinemas today offer a more “straight on” projection.
It is reported that the Fox Theatre CinemaScope screen was 74 X 32 feet. This may have been the dimensions before the screen was matted for showings. The first few CinemaScope films had an aspect ratio of 2.66:1. The screen measurement as reported would have allowed only for a 2.31:1 aspect ratio. Not much horizontal masking would have been required, however, to accommodate those earliest ‘scope films.
The Detroit United Artist Theatre was not the first theatre in Detroit to feature Cinemascope. The larger Fox Theatre had the first Cinemascope film ‘The Robe’ on the big wide scope screen. The United Artist Theatre was the fist cinema in Detroit to have the curved TOOD-AO curved screen and later featured D-150. Sitting empty for many years with no one to save her It will now just be a parking lot for the new apartments going into the theatre office tower. Maybe someone will put in some classic nice photos of the old UA Theatre in the new remodeled apartment lobby. I wonder If anyone has photos of the inside when It had the D-150 curved screen with stage curtains?
Sad, considering that downtown Detroit has started to turn the corner. The rehab of the Michigan Central train station is a good example of that.
Link with September 30, 2022 demolition photos.
https://historicdetroit.org/galleries/united-artists-theatre-demolition-photos?fbclid=IwAR1qMoZpv3IGgb0D8RqqZszyKVGdWj0mSZbc_kHOmhwHOzeS0_znpZssFzI
While the office building with the lobby is being renovated, the theater itself is being demolished.
A wall has collapsed at the building. I’m guessing this will speed up the expected demolition.
Ah, my mistake. It was Mekong.net.
http://www.mekong.net/random/theatres.htm
David – You’re welcome, but you must have me confused with another photographer re the Granada. I was 7 when it was demolished.
Thank you for posting Matt. Always loved your Granada in Chicago photos.
Just posted about The United Artists on After the Final Curtain It was one of my favorite places to photograph.
Update, of sorts…
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2019/10/28/hud-demolition-not-required-united-artists-theater/2484604001/?fbclid=IwAR05KCY1i86EmSzUAnGDz839VSdV4vQRL3Ky3Ri-s7Egom1YydagI_vcWNI
What’s going to happen with the theater itself?
The link above is glitched in the URL code. But if you copy and paste it into your browser, you’ll get there!
The whole building is getting “rehabbed” into residential units with ground level retail.
https://detroit.curbed.com/2017/5/26/15698150/ilitch-olympia-arena-detroit-renovation
April 28th, 1972 grand opening ad as Downtown in photo section.
February 3rd, 1928 grand opening ad in photo section.
Tragedy to let a handsome theatre and building like this get ruined. Must have been wonderful in its youth.
If anyone has any stories about going to/ working at this threatre in its adult days, I would love to hear them. I am chronicling the histories of adult theatres in the US. Please contact me at Thanks!
As seen by Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre, in their book “The Ruins of Detroit”:
View link
A sad picture from the recently published book “Lost Detroit: Stories Behind the Motor City’s Majestic Ruins” by Dan Austin: View link
Detriot has serious problems in the whole city,sections look like New Orleans they just don’t have the money.
It really is too bad; the theater had its last real shot at restoration in the early 1990s when a private investor took a shot at it. Looking at the facade and what is left of the Michigan just a few doors down is enough to make one cry.
Nice newreel footage Tinseltoes.