Showcase Cinemas Dearborn

1969 and 1973 grand opening ads in photo section.

Hope someone saved the one sheet frames.

This theatre was recently demolished.

Demolition underway, currently interior demo

Ray B –

Showcase Cinemas NA is owned wholey by National Amusements, which is owned primarily by Sumner and Shari Redstone (That is important to note as they have not agreed in years, and Sumner is trying to buy her out). National Amusements is considered the Parent company of Viacom, as it is the largest corporate share holder, and third largest, with Shari and Sumner holding the second and first largest shares (respectively) of Viacom.

I worked in the Dearborn Theatre from 1987 through 1990, and there was a couple of things I had to mention that your piece missed or got wrong.
National Amusements IS Showcase Cinemas. NA was the parent company name of SC, all of which were owned by Viacom, which is controlled by Sumner Redstone.
There have been two major changes undergone by the theatre during its history not really mentioned in the article.
Around 1965, there was an expansion of Michigan Avenue in front of the theatre, including the creation of a turn lane onto nearby Telegraph Rd. The original streamline tall marquee had to be removed from the theatre to prevent most of it hanging over road. I remember seeing the blueprints in the theatre’s basement. The remains of the support beams to the original marquee was removed during the construction of 1989.
In 1989, Showcase Cinemas did a major overhall to add the three cinema’s in back. A catwalk was added that broke through the original theatre to the new ones in the back (the theatre had been sub-divided years prior). During this construction, the original bathrooms, domed lobby, candy stand and front facade were all transformed into the cookie cutter designs that dominate all Showcase Cinema theatres. Considering the remolding in the 1970s to install the bar also installed the world’s ugliest shag carpeting on all the walls, that the dome had not been cleaned in years, and the candy stand had hidden petrified popcorn in its bowls—it was an improvement.
Couple of odd & end facts about the place. The dining room theatre actually used to be a dry cleaning business attached to the theatre. When it was expanded into a theatre, it still maintained its low business level ceiling, making it the oddest theatre screen in the Detroit area. Standing up in the wrong spot would result in your profile being projected onto the screen.
On the opposite side of that theatre was the vaccum cleaner repair store. It remained there after I left and would later become the game room.
In theatre four, carved out of the original theatre, has a section of seats tucked in the back next to the projection booth—basically hidden from view from the main aisle way area. It is probably the most notorious make-out place in the entire city.
At one time, the upstairs office & storage rooms used to be an apartment. The remains of the kitchen, living room & bedroom existed when I worked there. One room was converted into a private screening booth over looking screen #3. Many local VIP’s used to use the room at one time or another.