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Michigan Theatre
Detroit, Michigan
As the center of the auto industry, Detroit was becoming a very large and prosperous city just as the movies were becoming the nation's favorite form of entertainment. The result was an impressive collection of movie palaces on or near Grand Circus Park. So many of them were developed by pioneer exhibitor John Kunsky that he liked to call the district "Kunsky Park." Kunsky's architect of choice was C. Howard Crane, but in the case of the Michigan, his partners (Balaban & Katz) had the say, and brought in just whom you might expect. The Michigan was the third-largest house the Rapps ever designed and, as usual, contained many elements which could be found (somewhat modified) in many other projects. The sidewall treatment, for example, turned up all over the place, from the Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet to the Seattle Paramount The Michigan's movie house days ended in 1970. After a few years as a supper club and a few more as a rock palace, it was gutted to make a parking garage. The auditorium ceiling and much of the lobby survived and can still be seen there. The organ was the first of three Wurlitzers with five-manuals and the only one larger than a glorified Publix No. 1. It marked the debut of the extra-large console shell Wurlitzer would be using for its largest organs. Fred Hermes purchased the organ in 1955 and moved it the next year to his home in Racine, Wisconsin. Enlarged to 32 ranks, it is still there and playing. Photo courtesy of the Theatre Historical Society of America |
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