During the 1920's movies became
increasingly popular. To meet demand, theater
owners built ever larger and more elaborate houses
dedicated to their showing. By the late 1920's
this style of building became known as the 'movie
palace'. In Detroit these palaces became centered
off of Grand Circus Park. This is the story of
one such edifice.
In the 1920's the actors Mary Pickford, Douglas
Fairbanks, and Charlie Chaplin as well as director
D.W. Griffith founded the United Artists nationwide
chain of theaters. They decided to put their
17th theater in Detroit and hired the renowned
theater architect C. Howard Crane to design it. It
would be Crane's third theater for United Artists. He
was also called to design the chain's theaters
in Los Angeles and Chicago. The three theaters
shared the same Spanish-Gothic decorative scheme.
In some cases the same molds were used. However,
Detroit's United Artists would be unique. It was
built on an irregular shaped site. The office
building was a perfect rectangle, while the main
portion of the theater had to be placed at a 50
degree angle to Bagley Street.
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The
L.A. United Artists
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Inside
the LA United Artists
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The
lobby of the Chicago United Artists
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In those early years there was still some uncertainty
whether or not theaters would be economically
viable. Thus the project included an 18 story
office block. The United Artists Building was
a standard box shaped office structure. The
lower five floors were made up an elaborate base
of stone. A row of arches along the third floor
gave the building a degree of elegance. Rising
above this base were 13 floors of identical offices. The
theater itself was set apart from the office block
by a marquee covered in neon lights. There
was also an eight story vertical marquee attached
to the side of the building. At night it must
have made for quite a sight. Yet the real treat
lay inside Crane's new masterpiece.
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The
United Artists Building
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A
view of the marquee and vertical sign
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The interior of the theater was treated in what
was dubbed the Spanish-Gothic style. This
was a unique combination of gothic vertical elements
with tracery, thin lacework, Spanish styling,
and great ceiling heights. As one entered the
theater they would find themselves in a square
shaped, two story high entrance lobby. On
each wall were large mirrors framed by fantastic
ornament. Between these Crane placed huge
Indian maidens Their warm smiles welcoming
patrons. Ascending a slopping floor patrons would
pass into the main lobby. This room was made a
perfect circle to help hide the fact that the
auditorium sat at a 50 degree angle to the street.
This room was capped by a shallow dome and a large
chandelier. Here one would find a grand
staircase to the two upper balconies. Continuing
on further one would finally enter the auditorium.
It sat 2070 people and, unique for the time, was
built strictly for the showing of films. It continued
the odd blend of Spanish-Gothic with Indian maidens. One
could easily consider this to be one of Crane's
best theaters. It was acoustically perfect.
The United Artists Theater opened on February
3, 1928 with the film Sadie Thompson, starring
Gloria Swanson. Detroit's newest film palace became
an instant hit. It ran first run films and because
of its small size (compared to the 5041 seat Fox)
it was often used for reserve seating. It
was one of two Detroit theaters to show Gone With
the Wind when the film debuted in 1939, the other
theater to show the film was the Wilson(now Music
Hall). However, the UA was to reach its peak
during the sixties. Such films as Tora Tora
Tora, Cleopatra, and The Sound of Music played
to reserved seating. Sadly these glory years
would be short-lived.
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Auditorium
Stage
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Auditorium
Left
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By 1971 films had declined in popularity. With
falling patronage from television, multiplexes,
and a changing neighborhood the curtain closed
forever. In 1975 the theater's fixtures
were sold at auction by DuMouchelle Galleries.
After this the empty theater would only have sporadic
use. Between the years of 1978 to 1984 it
was used by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for
recordings. They had selected this auditorium
because of its acoustics. In time this new life
passed.
The office building would linger on. It had been
remodeled during the early sixties. This
included a totally redesigned lobby and exterior
base. The beautiful arches were replaced
with a face of dark marble, which offered no connection
to the floors above. The modern design could not
halt decline. The large and small businesses
that filled the UA began to leave for the suburbs.
By 1984 the office building closed.
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Detail
of Indian: 1987
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United
Artists marquee: 1987
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The building was not ready to give up the ghost.
Some of the shops remained in use. In the early
90's the building was bought by an individual
who was interested in bringing it back as lofts
with nightclubs in the theater and storefronts. In
1991 a nightclub named the Currency Exchange opened
in the ground floor portion formerly occupied
by a bank. The old bank's vault was used
as a club named, originally enough, the Vault.
Yet these hopes of revival were soon dashed and
after a few years the club closed. Now the real
deterioration began.
In 1997 the building was sold to Casino owner
Don Barden. He planned to review the property
for possible redevelopment but he gave control
to the facility to the city. The city then
forced Barden to sell the building to the Ilitches
for $1.5 million. There were some court battles
as Barden tried to null the sale but they were
for naught. The Ilitches also owned the abandoned
Adams Theater but currently have no plans for
either facility. Shortly after changing hands
the building was stripped of much of its remaining
plasterwork and scrap metal. Today the building
continues to stand empty and faces probable destruction.
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