Janes Theatre
1709 Janes Avenue,
Saginaw,
MI
48601
1709 Janes Avenue,
Saginaw,
MI
48601
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After a soft launch that lasted a period of time, the formal opening of Janes Theatre took place on December 27, 1934 with Joe E. Brown in “The Circus Clown.” Janes Theater veteran Frank D. Brown closed up on June 23, 1957 with “Loophole” and “Star of Texas.” It then became a house of worship called the House of Corinthian Church / Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church. In the 2020s, it was home to the Emmanuel Church of Deliverance.
Opened December 27th, 1934. No ad found.
Janes Theatre Attendance Give-Aways / Dish Nights
I am a collector of vintage silverplate service sets. One of my recent additions included a Guarantee Certificate for the Wm. Rogers Mfg. Co.
The Guarantee Certificate is stamped in red with “JANES THEATRE, SAGINAW MICH” and a date of 4/14/53 is written at top of certificate.
I suspect that this silverplate set was won by a lucky customer of the Janes Theatre in 1953 as part of a “Dish Night” type give-away.
The Janes Theatre was designed by its original owner, Fred H. Witters, with some critical structural elements planned by the Saginaw architectural firm of Cowles & Mutscheller. A three-page article about the project, with several photos, appears in the June 29, 1935, issue of Motion Picture Herald.
It was indeed called the Janes and never the Bel Air. Please fix the listing.
Water Winter Wonderland has a page for the Janes Theatre, and gives the address as 1709 Janes Avenue. It doesn’t mention Bel Air Theatre as an aka, and the site lists no indoor theaters called the Bel Air, only the Bel Air Drive-In, which was also on Janes Avenue. It says the Janes Theatre operated from 1935 to 1955, and seated “508+”
There is a photo of the building in later years as the Emmanuel Church of Deliverance, and the church is still listed at the theater’s address now. The building was still standing when the Google Street View truck last went by, so it probably still is.