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Larry
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Post Number: 165
Registered: 08-2004
Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - 12:54 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Couldn't find a previous thread on this subject, so I decided to start one. So what was your neighborhood theatre in Detroit ?
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Kville
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Post Number: 38
Registered: 04-2007
Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - 5:44 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The Civic, at Kelly & Whittier, was the closest to my house, but we had several where we frequented around the area, including the Vogue on Harper & Cadieux, the Harper Theater near Chalmers, Ramona on Gratiot & 6 Mile, Alger at Warren & Outer Drive, and a few that were just outside the city limits, including the Woods, Punch & Judy, & Esquire in Grosse Pointe. We also went to the Nortown on 7 & Van Dyke once in a while.

The Civic was where we went to the Saturday matinees as kids (25-cents), but I have a lot of fond memories of the Alger which was a block from where my grandmother worked. She used to take me there after work quite a bit. The Woods was just down the street from my dad's hardware store near 7 & Mack, so my brother & I used to walk there while my parents kept the store open.
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56packman
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Post Number: 1300
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Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - 7:24 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Check out the old movie houses thread in the >HOF section above, there is a huge thread already rolling on this topic.
My local movie house was the Redford. I became active in its rescue/restoration in 1974 when our group leased the building from Community theatres, then bought it in 1977. It is now the only neighborhood theatre in Detroit that is open an a regular basis.

www.redfordtheatre.com

check out my pal Gary's website

www.waterwinterwonderland.com

go to the "location type" bar at the top, select "indoor theatre" and get comfortable, you'll be there a while
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Mike
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Post Number: 893
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Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - 7:42 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

does the abreact count as a neighborhood theatre?
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Paulmcall
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Post Number: 134
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Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - 8:32 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The Grand River, Northwest and Redford theaters plus the Tower.
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Fury13
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Post Number: 1653
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Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - 9:06 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Kville, my mom worked at the Civic and also at the old Flamingo theatre on 7 Mile near Gratiot.

I remember the Ramona quite well. An impressive building.
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Gibran
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Post Number: 363
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Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - 11:11 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

what years did mom work there? I would have been a patron from the 1960's- 1970's... gosh that sound so old now...
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Iheartthed
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Post Number: 785
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Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - 11:24 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Mine was the Norwest until they tore it down for a fast food restaurant.
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Hornwrecker
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Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - 12:16 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

HOF thread: Old Detroit Moviehouses
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Ptpelee
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Post Number: 17
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Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - 5:43 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Our neighborhood theatre was the Great Lakes on Grand River. On one occasion the mothers on our street took all us kids there to see Peter Pan. This must have been around 1970. Later I saw the Poseidon Adventure with my Dad...I think I was too young, I couldn't sleep for a week!
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Softailrider
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Post Number: 39
Registered: 02-2007
Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - 9:18 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

My neighborhood theater was the Royal theater , on 7 mile . I can't remember the cross street but it was east of the Littlefield - Snowden area. We used to go to the Mercury on Schaefer quite a lot also .
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Detroit_uke
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Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - 9:31 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The Kramer - Michigan Avenue and Junction - matinees every Saturday. I remember seeing "The Nutty Professor" and "13 Ghosts"....
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Ptero
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Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - 9:39 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Make that two for the Great Lakes.

(Message edited by ptero on May 16, 2007)
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Masterblaster
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Username: Masterblaster

Post Number: 33
Registered: 03-2005
Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - 10:21 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

What neighborhood theatre buildings are left that are vacant? I know of the Civic and the Eastown Theatres. Are there any more????? ( I also going asked this question in the "Irving Theatre Fire" thread)

The reason why I am asking this is because if these buildings are not secure and are open like the Irving Theatre was, THEN WOULD ANYBODY BE WILLING TO HELP ME BOARD UP THE ENTRANCES OF THESE BUILDINGS. I AM FOR REAL!!!

I believe that the (few remaining) neighborhood theatres could be used as catalysts for neighborhood revitalization. The few remaining should be preserved.
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Larry
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Post Number: 167
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Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - 10:25 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Did the Poletown area that was destroyed, have a theatre ?
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D2dyeah
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Post Number: 57
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Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - 10:26 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The Senate on michigan and Livernois I believe is vacant. Detroit_uke/ The Kramer also had a huge game machine with the steam shovel in the lobby.
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Masterblaster
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Post Number: 34
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Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - 10:32 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I think that in the entirety of Northwest Detroit, that the only theatre building that is left is the Redford Theatre, although there is a website that claims that a building on Grand River near Joy was a theatre. It is a two story Lee Beauty Supply Store.
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Rickinatlanta
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Post Number: 51
Registered: 07-2006
Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - 10:37 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The RIO Theatre on Vernor. Last I knew it was a furniture store. Great movies on a Saturday in the 60's for a quarter if I recall.
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56packman
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Post Number: 1307
Registered: 12-2005
Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - 11:22 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Whoh,whoa,Whoa........wait a while here, some misinformation in the last couple of posts

1) The Senate on Michigan (6424 Michigan) is the home of the Detroit theatre organ society, a group that bought the (then) derelict theatre in 1963 and refurbished it to house the Wurlitzer organ from the Fisher theatre. It is open once a month for concerts on the Fisher instrument, info at www.dtos.org

2)There were two theatres at Grand River and Joy, the Grand Rivera, 9222 Grand river,later just KA "the Rivera" and the Rivera Annex, later KA "the Annex"-8990 Grand river. There is now a beauty school on the site of the Annex, which was demolished about 1960.

to see all of the movie houses in Hamtramck use Hornwrecker's link to the HOF moviehouses thread and go to www.waterwinterwonderland.com --it's pretty much all there if you dig.

As for neighborhood theatres still standing, The Stratford on W.Vernor, the Warren and Stanley on W. Warren, the Lasky in Hamtramck, the aforementioned and tragically located Eastown, The Oriole is now a church,another theatre on Grand River/oakman (Bererly?) is also a church, There's one that was KA "the sassy cat" in the 70's, don't remember the original name. Then there are many that are still standing and adapted to other uses.
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Barnesfoto
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Post Number: 3506
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Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - 11:57 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The Beverly was at Grand River and Oakman, had an extensive exterior remodeling done in the early seventies by the Jehova's Witnesses, and is still in use as church...I witnessed a "healing" there a few years back. The interior is intact, but not terribly impressive.

The Stratford. at Vernor near Junction, was being used for the last decade by Christian Charlatans, who abandoned it. Just over a year ago, it was operating as a crack den, with a grizzly "caretaker" charging folks to come in, smoke their product, and relieve themselves in the orchestra pit. Thankfully, neighborhood activists stepped up to the plate and pressured the owners to take responsibility. It has been reborn as a discount store.

The Lee Beauty Supply is in an old bank. The stunningly beautiful Riviera, across the street, was demoed in the late nineties, and is now the site of a flat, ugly, Social Security Office.

The Senate, as Packman noted, is operated by the Motor City Theater Organ Society. It is the only theater left standing designed by a prominent theater architect whose name escapes me. It too is stunningly beautiful, and worth a visit by old theater enthusiasts.

Then there's my old neighborhood house, the Redford, which is perhaps the most beautiful of any of the neighborhood theaters still operating..
Kudos to Packman's group, even if they are a little heavy on the stale musicals.
I've been meaning to check out a movie there for years...One of these days, I will.
Promise!
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56packman
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Post Number: 1308
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Posted on Thursday, May 17, 2007 - 11:13 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Barnes--small clarification: the Senate is owned/operated by the Detroit theatre organ society and the Redford is owned/operated by the motor city theatre organ society, a chapter of the American Theatre organ society. Detroit is the only city in the US where one of these groups owns their own theatre, and we have TWO such groups owning buildings. Hurray for cheap real estate!
As to the Redford programming: We have typically 2 of an 8 movie series as musicals, the rest being comedies, dramas, noir, some "family favorites". It's what we are known for.
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Swede1934
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Post Number: 19
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Posted on Thursday, May 17, 2007 - 11:47 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Does anyone remember a theater at Hamilton and McNichols? I think it may have been named the Palmer Park or am I confusing this with the Tuxedo listed in the earlier thread>?
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Barnesfoto
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Post Number: 3511
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Posted on Thursday, May 17, 2007 - 12:01 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

pack-my bad, DTOS, MCTOS, always mixing them up...
Cheap real estate yes, but I wouldn't want to see either heating bill.
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Swede1934
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Posted on Thursday, May 17, 2007 - 12:36 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

bump
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56packman
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Post Number: 1309
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Posted on Thursday, May 17, 2007 - 12:49 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Barnes--it ain't pretty for either.
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Jman
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Post Number: 54
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Posted on Thursday, May 17, 2007 - 1:36 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Swede you are correct, that was the Palmer Park theatre. The Tuxedo was on Hamilton between Tuxedo and Webb.

(Message edited by Jman on May 17, 2007)
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Fury13
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Post Number: 1660
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Posted on Thursday, May 17, 2007 - 1:41 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Gibran, my mom worked at the Civic in the early '50s, probably 1950-52. Before your time.
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Fury13
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Post Number: 1661
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Posted on Thursday, May 17, 2007 - 1:50 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

56packman, you mentioned the now-vacant "Sassy Cat" at 3929 Woodward. This has been covered on the forum before, but it indeed was a porno house in its last days as a theater (1970s-1980s). It was built as the Garden Theatre in the mid-teens, but it was a re-use/remodel of an older (circa 1890s?) building, and I believe it was a C. Howard Crane project. In the '50s, about 1957 or 1958, it became the second incarnation of the 509 Club, a nightclub featuring live music that was formerly located at (you guessed it) 509 Woodward. Around 1962, it became the Village, a famous all-ages or "teen" club showcasing top local R&B and rock 'n' roll acts of the day. It was at the Village that Detroit artists like Gino Washington, Nathaniel Mayer, and Mitch Ryder (then known as Billy Lee) cut their musical teeth.
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Swede1934
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Posted on Thursday, May 17, 2007 - 3:00 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Jman, thanks for the info.
During the 40's down at the RKO-Uptown at 6 Mile and Woodward, they had a Saturday morning program for kids that included a stage presentation, and then the screen was lowered and the scheduled movie was shown, all for 15 cents. My mother could get me out of the house for a good part of the day for less than 50 cents, including the 6 cent trolley fare each way. BTW, did other neighborhood theaters have similiar setups?? I remember it as a lot of fun.
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Eastsidedame
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Post Number: 144
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Posted on Sunday, May 20, 2007 - 7:07 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Living at Moross and I-94, it would be the Woods, Punch & Judy, the sublime Vogue (which is now the site of a freaking MC DONALDS!!!), the Harper (now Harpos) and the Ramona.

Didn't go to the Civic at all, don't know why, really. Just not my scene. The Beacon East much later...saw The Exorcist there, first run. Trolleys were before my time, DSR was the way to go before I could drive.

I skipped classes at WSU when they tore the Ramona down. It took two days, plus a Saturday. Sat on the curb and cried. I think it was 1978. This nice worker came over and gave me a kleenex and a hard hat. Wished I had my camera.

(Message edited by eastsidedame on May 20, 2007)
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Joken
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Posted on Sunday, May 20, 2007 - 1:12 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

gratiot/harper would be the roosevelt theater.
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Gistok
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Posted on Sunday, May 20, 2007 - 1:21 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yes the Ramona was a sad loss. There's nothing there today except for a parking lot at the corner of Gratiot and McNichols.

Interestingly enough the Ramona and the Grand Riviera (on Grand River) on the outside looked like the same theatre architect designed them both (with a large hexagonal or octagonal dome over the entranceway). However that was not the case, they were designed by 2 different architects, one of which was well renowned.

The Grand Riviera (a John Eberson Atmospheric Theatre, razed mid 1990's) was a much finer theatre with a wonderful mediterranean garden courtyard as interior decor with main floor and balcony seating.

The Ramona (who's architect escapes me at the moment) was much plainer theatre on the inside, with basically main floor seating.

Sadly, the Grand Riviera was Detroit's finest atmospheric, and Detroit's only John Eberson Theatre.

Surviving John Eberson atmospheric theatres include such famous theatres as the San Antonio Majestic, Bronx Paradise, Loew's Valencia (Queens), Tampa Theatre, Akron's Civic, Chicago Avalon (& Avalon Ballroom), and theatres in Kalamazoo and Flint.

There's something very magical about John Eberson's atmosheric theatres once the lights dimmed for the show... as though you were transported to some romantic medieval Mediterranean village at dusk.

His (newly restored) Loew's Bronx Paradise, arguably his finest surviving atmospheric work, had extremely ornate Italian Renaissance sidewalls with stuffed birds and fake cypress trees to make it look real. With so much architectural details and statuary to look at, it's a wonder anyone had time to watch the movie! :-)
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Gary
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Posted on Sunday, May 20, 2007 - 1:36 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The Varsity at McNichols and Livernois was my first neighborhood theater. The owners switched to "art films" in the mid 60s, so we moved on to the Six Mile Uptown on Woodward, That's where we saw Goldfinger, Thunderball you name it. Great times.
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56packman
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Post Number: 1321
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Posted on Sunday, May 20, 2007 - 1:46 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Gistok--John Eberson also designed the Annex, or "Rivera Annex" as it was also known. You neglected to mention the Marion (OH) Palace, another surviving Eberson design.

http://www.waterwinterwonderla nd.com/location.asp?ID=480&typ e=5
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Fury13
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Posted on Sunday, May 20, 2007 - 2:27 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Here's a cool old "atmospheric" theater that they're trying to save in Chicago:

http://cinematreasures.org/the ater/1499/

Architect was Myer O. Nathan.
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Gistok
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Posted on Sunday, May 20, 2007 - 3:00 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yes, 56packman I keep forgetting about the Annex. It had an atmospheric lobby, which is not that common among atmospherics.

As for the Palace in Marion, yes there is also a Palace in Canton OH, and a Loew's in Louisville that are wonderful theatres Eberson theatres as well.

Some say that Eberson's finest theatre was the Chicago Paradise (razed in 1950's). And one could hardly deny that the exterior of the Chicago Paradise was the greatest neighborhood movie palace theatre design ever!! A "Second Empire tour de force" as theatre historians called it:





But unfortunately the acoustics of the auditorium of the Chicago Paradise were awful, which contributed to its' early demise.



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Caldogven
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Posted on Sunday, May 20, 2007 - 7:54 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The theatre on Cadillac just off of Forest was the "Rivola". I got in free when ever I wanted because I had the job of making sure there was nothing in one of the ramps leading from the rear emergence exit to the alley.
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Ramcharger
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Posted on Sunday, May 20, 2007 - 8:18 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

56packman,

quote:

As for neighborhood theatres still standing, The Stratford on W.Vernor, the Warren and Stanley on W. Warren


The Warren Theater (W. Warren, just east of the Southfield freeway) has been gone for years, it is now a parking lot for Gigi's, one of the oldest gay bars in Detroit. I used to spend many a Saturday afternoon there (the theater, not the bar). When I was seven or eight I remember seeing an old Vincent Price flick there called "The Tingler", near the end of the movie the screen went dark (part of the movie) and the theater was pitch black. Then Vincent tells the audience to "scream for your lives" so everyone starts screaming as loud as they could; scared the crap out of me, I couldn't sleep without a light on for a year. lol


(Message edited by Ramcharger on May 21, 2007)
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56packman
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Post Number: 1323
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Posted on Sunday, May 20, 2007 - 11:46 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

OK ramcharger, I stand corrected. I was thinking of the theatre that is now Frog foreign parts' warehouse on Warren. I'm usually pretty picky about these things, especially when I (think) I'm correcting someone else's post. It was late and I didn't want to crack my books.
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Ticub
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Posted on Monday, May 21, 2007 - 12:02 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

King & Home Theaters on Chene St. Double Bill, Selected Shorts, Cartoon and Coming Attractions.
All for 9 cents. My dad used to give me 15 cents and we bought penny candy with the remaining 6 cents. Wish I had some of the movie posters from that era.
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Jjaba
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Posted on Monday, May 21, 2007 - 12:37 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Westown, Tower, Grand River, Norwest, Varsity, Mercury, Beverly. You could find jjaba here in the 1940s. In the 1950s and 1960s, he saw Broadway shows at the Riviera, Grand River and Joy Rd.

jjaba, Proudly Westside.
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Eastsidedame
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Posted on Monday, May 21, 2007 - 4:29 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The Ramona was designed by the firm of Kohner & Payne. The Roosevelt was a "twin" to the Cinderella on Jefferson.

Jjaba: As a West Sider, did you ever go to the Hollywood Theater, located west of downtown? I heard it was fabulous; so sorry to have missed that experience.

BTW, I asked my Mom what her neighborhood theater was growing up (1930s) and she said The Priscilla. I never heard of it; does anyone have some information about it?

Mom said she would go during "dish night" and managed to get several nice place-settings during the Depression that way. I heard this was quite common. Wonder what those dishes would be worth now???

And wasn't the Motor City Roller Rink on Van Dyke once a theater, too?
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Fury13
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Posted on Monday, May 21, 2007 - 11:01 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Caldogven, the Rivola was my dad's neighborhood theater when he was growing up on Cooper Street, near E. Warren, in the '40s. He's told me many stories about walking to the Rivola as a kid.
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Gistok
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Posted on Monday, May 21, 2007 - 1:07 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Eastsidedame,

The Hollywood Theatre (built 1927, razed 1963) was the largest neighborhood theatre in Detroit. See this website:

http://www.stevenball.com/Holl ywoodTheater.htm

Although the website mentions nearly 4,000 seats, the actual seat count for the Hollywood was 3,434 (per Theatre Historical Society records), which was just 50 seats more than the Capitol (Detroit Opera House today).

As the website mentions, the Hollywood Theatre was built at W. Fort St. & Ferdinand (around 18th St. IIRC). It was designed by local architect Charles N. Agree. But the architectural firm of Graven & Mayger (builder of the old Fisher Theatre), helped Mr. Agree with his theatre design.

What was sad about the early demise of the Hollywood Theatre was the fact that, like the MCS Train Station, the Hollywood was expecting downtown to spread westward towards their development.

However, the Great Depression put an end to a westward expansion of downtown, and the Hollywood just never found an audience for its' movies. Sadly it closed in the late 1950's, and was pounded to rubble a few years later.

It was Detroit's 3rd largest movie house, after the Fox and the Michigan.
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Caldogven
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Posted on Monday, May 21, 2007 - 2:44 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Fury13
I lived on Pennsylvania the second house from the Pennsylvania Beer Store, it was Schwartz' Drug Store when I left in 1960. The drug store had been on the corner of Warren and Cadillac. the Schwartz family lived above the beer store, which was owner by the Enyert's, who built a new store kiddy-corner on Warren where there had been a Pure gas station. Oddly there was also a Pure station on the opposite corner. What is your dads name?
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Eastsidedame
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Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 12:43 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I didn't realize it was so massive! Curiously, there was a lot of Spanish Renaissance architecture built in Detroit at that time. I also understand that like the National, it was a burlesque house before its closing.

When reporting on the imminent razing of the Hollywood, the Detroit News (3-17-63) mockingly refered to it as a "monument", complete with quotation marks. I hope attitudes have changed since then.

Yet another long-forgotten architectural marvel brought to the fore. Thanks for the insight, Gistok.
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56packman
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Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 7:04 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Eastsidedame--a late friend of mine bought the Barton organ from the Hollywood theatre shortly before its demolition. He removed it after the power to the building had been "disconnected" by virtue of a transformer room deep in the basement that had flooded. The disassembled instrument occupied his whole basement and two car garage and attic. Years ago he gave a bunch of us a slide show of the pictures he took after he had the organ out, of the Hollywood demolition. He took an amazing set of images of the building in various states of demo. The Hollywood drove the first two demolition contractors broke, and the last one barely broke even. One wall of the theatre shared the property line with the backyards of some houses, small lots where the house wasn't far from the back fence line. The demo contractors couldn't swing a ball at that wall and not shower the houses with bricks so they had workers straddling the wall with hammers, knocking the common brick wall (which was long and tall, no windows) into the interior space.
The theatre was massive and Deluxe, equal to anything downtown. One picture showed the auditorium in color, it was taken after the stagehouse had been demo'ed and the inside was flooded with sunlight. I would like to make scans of those slides someday (I still am in contact with his son).
The tone of the Detroit news story circa 1963 isn't surprising--in 1963 modern was in, the whole Mies Van Der Rohe metal and glass box minimalism thing was in full force, many of the adults remembered the movie palaces from their childhood as a silly, frivolous era that collapsed of its own weight and there just wasn't a lot of sympathy for those that met the wrecker's ball. The NY Roxy came down in '60, the San Francisco Fox in '63, the NY Paramount in '64-'65. We today appreciate the sense of fantasy and quality of construction of the palaces, and most have good acoustics. I'm personally glad the Detroit Fox survived almost totally intact until a better day came.
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Fury13
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Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 10:44 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Caldogven, my dad lived at 5307 Cooper (near Moffat) roughly from 1939 to 1948 (the family moved to State Fair and Gratiot at that point), so it was before your time.

Wish there were some pics of the Rivola around. I'd love to see what it looked like.
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Ditman
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Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 11:17 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

hello, my name is Jack, I'm 64(how'd that happen?!) & I grew up on NW side of the city-Fenkell btwn Schaeffer & Meyers. Our neighborhood theater was the Carlton. We could walk(or run halfway onto Fenkell &stand on the white line till traffic cleared. My house was 2 houses N of Fenkell next to the Wrigley's Supermarket. We also rode our bikes to the Mercury for Sat matinees. Also the Royal@7Mi&Meyers. I'm sorry to see the decaying of the United Artists. When I was older, a big date was seeing Ben-Hur, King Of Kings, Dr Zhivago, Cleopatra at the U A.
Quick childhood Carlton memory. When I was 5 or 6
my sister(4yrs older) & I & other kids went to Sat matinee to see Abbot & Costello Meet Frankenstein. I got scared, started crying. My sister had to take me home. When she returned to the theater, the mgr wouldnt let her in until she paid agin(probably 25c, big $ then. There was also
the Westown@Fenkell&Wyoming a bike ride away.
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56packman
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Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 12:33 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Welcome to the forum Ditman, you'll find lots of memories of the Detroit that was, and hopefully the hope for the detroit of tomorrow.
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Ray1936
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Post Number: 1484
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Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 12:33 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Ditman, I've got you by seven years, but hey! You're right about "a bike ride away". Bikes were an absolute part of life back then. They got you everywhere! And they weren't any fancy ten-speed whatevers, either. The lucky guys had Schwinns, mugs like me had to be happy with a Ward's Hawthorne.
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Jman
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Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 1:26 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Ditman, That reminds me of the time when I went to see Abbot & Costello Meet Frankenstein. When I got home my mother asked me what movie was playing. I told her it was a whore movie. She sat me right down and asked the title. When I told her the title she immediately took the time to teach me how to pronounce horror.
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Ravine
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Post Number: 918
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Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 1:37 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Welcome to DetroitYes, Ditman. Please continue to share your memories of Detroit Past. We need as much light-hearted, non-emotionally-heated testimony as we can get, around here. You will see that we spend a shocking amount of time & energy on hissing and snarling at each other.
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Ditman
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Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 2:12 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

thanks for the feedback, guys. ditman=Detroit Institute of Technology. Anyone remember the Studio theaters-Studio North@Woodward&9Mi & Studio 8 Greenfield&8Mi(I think). I remember trying 3 wks in a row to see Goldfinger when it first came out. I remember the Carlton had Halloween costume contests & they passed out popcorn balls which we of course tossed up on the stage during the contest. The mgr threatened to stop the contest & send us home. I'll try to keep the light-hearted stuff coming as it comes back to me.
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Newport1128
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Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 7:26 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The Cinderella was on Jefferson at Lakeview (near Dickerson). On Saturday afternoons, the kids would line up around the side of the building for the 25 cent matinee and 25 cent popcorn. When "The Shaggy Dog" came out (1959?), the line around the building was three deep. In the Sixties, they used to have live "Monster Shows" with guys dressed up like Frankenstein's monster and the Wolfman who would run through the aisles and scare the pants off us little kids while the scary movies were being shown.
The first time I remember going to a theater, it was at the Lakewood, which was at the corner of Lakewood and Jefferson (near Chalmers). It was torn down about 1959 or 1960 and replaced by a Sunoco station and Bill's Bicycle Shop.
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Formerspringgardener
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Post Number: 41
Registered: 07-2006
Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 7:42 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The Ramona on Seymour and Gratiot was my favorite, hands down.

We used to wait in line on Saturday morning just so we could get the first row. So many movies that we enjoyed and I think it used to be only a quarter for a double feature!

Alas, as someone said before it's only a memory, torn down for a parking lot...
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20043_stotter
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Post Number: 28
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Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 7:50 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I'm 67 and here are some of the movie theatres that I went to as a kid.
Nortown - 7 mi. at Van dyke
Eastown - Harper and Van dyke
Cameo - 7 mi. west of Dequindre
Mars - Conant just S. of Outer Drive
Ramona - 6 mi. and Gratiot
Deluxe - On van dyke in Utica
Rialto - Loc. escapes me
Roosevelt - Loc. escapes me

There was one on the west side of Van dyke just S. of harper, that used to show horror movie matinees in the summer. Frankenstein, Wolfman, Dracula etc. I just can't remember the name. Anybody remember it and the name?

Plus, my dear Mom would take me downtown to all of those grand theatres. She took me to one matinee, I was about 7 yrs old and Frank Sinatra sang live. I guess singers used to travel the theatre circuit matinees. We were in the first row and the place was near empty. Dad would take me to the Telenews. We were there, when it was announced that Franklin Delano Roosevelt had died. Some people were in tears.
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Gistok
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Post Number: 4365
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Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 11:49 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Frank Sinatra was a singer in the Tommy Dorsey Band (or was it Jimmy?).

They played the Michigan Theatre, where legend has it that the Michigan is where Frank Sinatra told Tommy Dorsey that he was going solo.

I'm sure that Frank Sinatra came back several times to Detroit theatres.
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56packman
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Post Number: 1330
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Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 7:29 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Gistok, Frank Sinatra was with the Harry James band initially, then with Tommy Dorsey's orchestra from 1940 until mid 1942, when he left Dorsey's band to become a solo singer. This was a pivotal event in popular music history; prior to this the band (and its instrumentalist leader) was the attraction, the singer(s) merely the means to sell the lyrics of a song. If you listen to a pre-Sinatra solo career recording the band would play the chorus, chorus, bridge and chorus ("AABA" construction in musician's terms) the verse as an instrumental, then the vocal came in for another AABA section then to the ending. After Sinatra went solo the vocal began right away, after the introduction and any instrumental became a brief interlude in the middle. The attraction was the bands, which were the hottest thing in pop music at the time. Sinatra had the solo singer gig almost to himself until after the war, when other singers were able to do the same thing.
Dorsey/Sinatra played the Michigan here in Detroit, as they we booked into the Paramount/Publix nationwide chain, starting with the flagship Paramount theatre n times square, NY.
When Sinatra was in Detroit (at the Fox) for the "ultimate event" in 1988 he remarked that he had performed at the (Detroit) Fox once before--in 1936 as part of a Major Bowes traveling version of his hugely popular radio show--"the Original Amateur Hour", an American Idol type show (A.I. is a direct descendent of the Amateur hour)
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Joken
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Post Number: 14
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Posted on Thursday, May 24, 2007 - 1:38 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

anyone remember the romeo on gratiot,3 movies, 3 cartoons and a serial for 9 cents
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Roseombre
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Post Number: 6
Registered: 07-2005
Posted on Friday, May 25, 2007 - 7:07 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The EASTEND Theater on E. Jefferson Ave was one of my favorite places to go as I could walk there. However, I remember the Cinderella also. But how many of you remember the PLAZA? And I bet even fewer of you remember the one on E. Jefferson and I think Fairview. If I remember correctly it was called the JEFFERSON. My dad used to take me there. We could see 4 movies, cartoons, and newsreels for 9 cents admission. I can remember watching the serials. Anyone remember them?? LOL
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Superaygun
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Post Number: 572
Registered: 04-2005
Posted on Friday, May 25, 2007 - 7:29 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

what a great thread. two of my earliest memories of going to the movies were trips to the Civic (to see The Blues Brothers!) and the Woods (i was five and my ma took us to see The Shining. she would take us to anything! i remember screaming when Scatman gets the axe to the chest and being taken to the lobby and appeased with a roll of Starburst...). we also did the Eastland Theater and the Beacon East quite a bit. i saw E.T. three times at the Beacon East...i know that's not terribly old-school, but sue me, i'm only 31!
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Chalu64
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Posted on Friday, May 25, 2007 - 9:07 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I saw ET at the Civic. But my main stomping grounds were The Alger or The Vogue. The Vogue was an amazing place. I still can remember those 'porthole' windows' representative of Streamline Moderne.
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Gistok
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Posted on Friday, May 25, 2007 - 11:45 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Chalu64 I too remember the Vogue as a kid. It was quite large for a neighborhood theatre (ditto the Woods), and sat over 2,000. My last show there was Casino Royale circa 1970. It was the largest building (besides St. Matthew's Church) on that stretch of Harper Ave.

I also remember the retailers in the 2 story retail/commercial portion of the building. I visited my first coin shop there as a 10 year old.
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Vetalalumni
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Post Number: 58
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Posted on Saturday, May 26, 2007 - 5:34 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

My favorite theatres in the 70's, in order, were the:
- my neighborhood theatre, the mighty Norwest Theatre
- The Mercury Theatre
- The Redford Theatre.
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Newport1128
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Username: Newport1128

Post Number: 19
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Posted on Saturday, May 26, 2007 - 11:37 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Anybody remember the Guild on Gratiot south of Houston-Whitter...before it became x-rated?
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Caldogven
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Post Number: 44
Registered: 05-2006
Posted on Saturday, May 26, 2007 - 1:43 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Newport1128
I remember the Guild, but never was in it. I worked at Funston Chevrolet right across the street from it. Evert's diner next to it had the best 30 cent burgers around.
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Superaygun
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Post Number: 574
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Posted on Saturday, May 26, 2007 - 5:44 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

i think i saw E.T. once at the Esquire as well. wasn't that on Gratiot? i remember it was not too far from my grandma's house; she lived on Barlow just off of Gratiot.
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Michmeister
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Post Number: 192
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Posted on Saturday, May 26, 2007 - 7:50 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The good old Norwest-movies for a buck in the late seventies. We saw Raiders of the Lost Ark and the Blues Brothers about,hmmmmmh, a million times. Rotten shame it was torn down. A whole mess of childhood memories went down with her.
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Superaygun
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Post Number: 575
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Posted on Saturday, May 26, 2007 - 8:12 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

when did the Norwest finally close? the last thing i remember seeing there was (i am about to show my truly geeky colors) Supergirl back in '84...
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Michmeister
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Posted on Saturday, May 26, 2007 - 8:49 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Nothing geeky about Helen Slater! Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk! Don`t know when it actually closed but my last film there was Probably Raiders but the first were the Billy Jack movies.........one tin soldier rides away....pure trash, but it was cool then, in the days.
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Newport1128
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Post Number: 24
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Posted on Saturday, May 26, 2007 - 9:42 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Superaygun, the Esquire was on Jefferson in Grosse Pointe Park. It was on Lakepointe and Jefferson. Ted Ewald Chevrolet was just to the south of it. There are high-end condos now where the theater used to be. Maybe you're thinking of the Eastwood, which is on Gratiot north of 8 Mile.
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Superaygun
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Post Number: 578
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Posted on Saturday, May 26, 2007 - 9:54 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Could be, Newport...thanks for the clarification. :-)
Michmeister, i think ALL of my memories of the Norwest involve the pure trash of my era (Breakin', the aforementioned Supergirl...i'm sure there are others), so i'm with ya!
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Kellyroad
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Post Number: 42
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Posted on Sunday, May 27, 2007 - 1:07 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Ok eastsiders (those of you 30 or older) remember the RAMONA theater on the northwest corner of 6 MI and Gratiot (closed and eventually torn down in the mid 80s). It had a neat vertical sign with the letters RAMONA. WHAT WAS THE SEQUENCE OF THE LETTERS LIGHTING UP AND FLASHING. answer to be posted later
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Debw858
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Post Number: 8
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Posted on Sunday, May 27, 2007 - 8:14 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Kellyroad
Is this a trick questions? Didn't it spell RAMONA. R A M O N A going down or did they light up one letter at a time. This is just a silly guess, but maybe A M O R A N??? I should remember this because I was at that theatre all the time. In fact, I remember one time I stayed and watched The Hermann's Hermits twice because I was in love with them and I didn't tell my mom I was going to sit through the movie twice and boy did I ever get in trouble!!

(Message edited by debw858 on May 27, 2007)
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56packman
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Post Number: 1352
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Posted on Sunday, May 27, 2007 - 9:55 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Here's what it looked like shortly after it opened


Ramona
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Smogboy
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Post Number: 5223
Registered: 11-2004
Posted on Monday, May 28, 2007 - 12:43 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I thought the Norwest was one of the most fun-filled and rowdiest theaters when I was in high school, ESPECIALLY when there was a bad movie. People talking back to the screen, popcorn being tossed at it and everything that was socially unacceptable in a movie theater.

In my mind it was like the Rocky Horror Picture Show everytime!
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Vetalalumni
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Username: Vetalalumni

Post Number: 112
Registered: 05-2007
Posted on Monday, May 28, 2007 - 12:48 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The seating capacity was crazy. Better than today's multi-plexes with 22 littler theatres under one roof.

However, today we do have THX, Dolby, and 3D (e.g. Meet the Robinson's).
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Gistok
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Post Number: 4410
Registered: 08-2004
Posted on Monday, May 28, 2007 - 1:21 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

It's kinda funny how close the Ramona looks to the Grand Riviera (also known as the Riviera) over on Grand River. They were designed by different architects.




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Kellyroad
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Post Number: 46
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Posted on Monday, May 28, 2007 - 1:26 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Debw858,
Sorry about your trouble regarding Herman's Hermits (LOL)...You must have been in love with Peter Noone like most teeny bops at that time. Anyway, it is NOT a trick question. You're close. There was a certain sequence of letters lighting up and flashing..what were they? As a kid that sign always intrigued me. When coming home from my grandparents house our family would head east on McNichols (6 Mile) make a left on Gratiot and headed north to 7 Mile (my dad always got a Free Press from the street vendor in front of Flagg Shoes). Anyway, while on Gratiot I would always look out the back car window to watch the RAMONA sign untill we got to 7 Mi...kind of a wierd thing you do as a kid. yet that Ramona sign brings back fond memories of that neighborhood.
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56packman
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Post Number: 1358
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Posted on Monday, May 28, 2007 - 2:08 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Vetalalumni--3D was introduced in 1953 and was a HUGE fad for a while, giving us such masterpieces of cinematic work as "The Creature form the black lagoon", "the house of wax", "Dail M for Murder", and others. it's nothing new.
Theatres had stereophonic sound (4 channel 35mm and 6 channel 70mm) beginning in the fifties as well. All gimmicks along with technicolor and wide screen processes (cinemascope and vistavision) to lure away people from the idiot box and back into the theatre.
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Vetalalumni
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Post Number: 120
Registered: 05-2007
Posted on Monday, May 28, 2007 - 2:11 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

56packman:
I stand corrected.
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Kville
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Username: Kville

Post Number: 40
Registered: 04-2007
Posted on Monday, May 28, 2007 - 8:05 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Anyone hear of the Aloma theater, on Charlevoix near the city limits? My parents told me how they got a free set of dishes there - every week, they'd give out a different dish. The bigger dishes (platters) required more than one visit.
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Debw858
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Post Number: 14
Registered: 05-2007
Posted on Monday, June 11, 2007 - 4:07 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Kellyroad -
Debw858 here, You never revealed the answer to your trivia question regarding the sequence of the letters for RAMONA Theatre. How much longer do I have to wait for the answer. LOL
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Ditman
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Username: Ditman

Post Number: 3
Registered: 05-2007
Posted on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 - 2:24 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Frm ditman. This isnt a movie theater inqr but do they still have major concerts at Masonic Temple Aud? In the 60's I saw Baez, Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, Buffy St Marie(I was a folkie,you guessed). Interesting story about seeing Bette Midler@Masonic Jan 73. 1st wife & I joined Coalition To End The War In Vietnam. Took Greyhound frm Grand Circus Park to DC for counter demonstration at 2nd Nixon inaugural. The bus rturned to Detroit early Sun am. We had tkts that nite to see Bette at the Masonic. We slept all day bfore the concert. This was bfore Bette was huge & coincided w/her 1st album(remember ALBUMS)Divine Miss M. Lot of great shows at the Masonic.
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Gistok
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Username: Gistok

Post Number: 4525
Registered: 08-2004
Posted on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 - 3:38 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yes there are still concerts there. But I believe that the Nederlander organization that handled bookings there for decades has been replaced by Olympia Entertainments, the Ilitch owned entertainment arm.

Why they took on the 4,404 seat Masonic Temple Theatre venue on top of their 5,174 seat Fox... I don't know. Perhaps they will be booking events there for the nearby Marion Ilitch owned MotorCity Casino.

Another reason may be that some entertainment acts require a larger stage. The Fox's stage is not the largest in Detroit (the 2,765 seat Detroit Opera House wins in that regard). But Masonic, which also has a larger stage than the Fox, may allow them to book acts that would otherwise have slipped passed Olympia Entertainments.
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Msamslex
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Username: Msamslex

Post Number: 1
Registered: 06-2007
Posted on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 - 8:15 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Hello,

New to the forum. We used to live off Joy Road, a couple streets from Grand River, so we were right by the Riviera. I was little and I seem to remember some type of restuarant/diner? in one of the store fronts attached to the theatre. My parents used to buy what I thought were the best fish sandwiches there. Of course I was a little kid so what did I know? Sorry I don't remember the name of the place.
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Larry
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Username: Larry

Post Number: 193
Registered: 08-2004
Posted on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 - 8:40 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Were their any theatres in the Poletown area that was demolished ?
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56packman
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Username: 56packman

Post Number: 1418
Registered: 12-2005
Posted on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 - 9:34 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Larry--from my post over in the "old movie houses" HOF thread, here is a listing of Hamtramck theatres
FARNUM, 9048 Jos. Campau (1918-1967)
MARTHA WASHINGTON, 10315-10331 Jos. Campau (1924-1968), renamed the Campau, (1970-?)
NORTHWAY, 10004 Jos. Campau (1923)
PASTIME, 8615 Jos. Campau, 400 seats, (1912-1937)
POLAND,2026 Caniff (1921)
renamed CANIFF (1922-1927)
" " EAGLE (1928-1929)
POLAND, 9643 Jos. Campau (1917)
renamed FREE POLAND (1918-1921)
" " POLAND (1921-1925)
" " CAMPAU (1926-1939)
WARSAW, 3200 Caniff (1918)
WHITE STAR, 9229 Jos. Campau (1915-1936)
renamed STAR (1937-1949)
360 seats.
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Stinger4me
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Username: Stinger4me

Post Number: 15
Registered: 08-2007
Posted on Saturday, August 25, 2007 - 6:46 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Does anyone remember the Casino on Davison just west of Fenelon?

How about the Conant Show on Conant south of Carpenter on the west side of the street. There was a candy store about 100 feet away. It wasn't too far from the Atlas Bottling Company.

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