Keego Theater

graymatters on April 18, 2021 at 8:55 am

My grandfather Albert S. “Al” Johnson’s Johnson Construction Company built the Keego Theatre in 1940.

As explained in the overview above, the original conventional marquee was replaced in the 1970s with a shallower marquee after being struck several times by passing trucks once Orchard Lake Road was widened.

I’ve uploaded a scanned copy of a June 1948 Kodachrome slide taken by Al. In that image you can see that the original marquee had already been damaged by passing traffic on Orchard Lake Road. Humphrey Bogart’s classic film “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” appears on the marquee. Two sets of red double doors have full octagonal glass in the upper portion - a unique design not seen in images of any other Johnson-built theaters.

The porcelain enamel theater front and cream and red color scheme are characteristic of Johnson-built theaters of the era.