6 Mile Theatre

I lived at Six Mile & Woodward Avenue in the 1983 when the nearby Uptown Theater was closed and slated for demolition. During demolition I snuck inside and was able to “rescue” or “salvage” or in plain words, steal an art deco wall sconce which I’ve had displayed in my New York City apartment for the last twenty years. I’ve a particular love for old theaters and salvaging bits of neon and signage before they disappear. In addition to this sconce I have the “Now Playing” neon from the Esquire Theater in Toledo and the neon “O” from the Avalon Theater in Toledo.

The RKO Uptown/Six Mile Theatre, built in 1927, had to have been designed by Percival Pereira, who had been practicing architecture in Detroit for many years. Percival Pereira was never a member of the firm of Pereira & Pereira, which was founded in 1931 by brothers William and Hal Pereira. The brothers had nothing to do with the design of this theater.

Your thumbnail isn’t certain about the seating capacity of (what we called in my youth) the RKO Uptown. By comparison to another theatre in Highland Park, the Tuxedo, which you seem definite about having an 1800-seat auditorium, I will tell you that the Uptown was very significantly larger. If your figure for the Tux is valid, then I’ll bet the Uptown handily exceeded 2000 seats.