Detroit's Theatre Architect C. Howard Crane

[Gistok]

Hardhat [[and also p69rrh51) thanks for all the great images!!!

Hardhat, your images show so well just how far gone the former Grand Circus Theatre was! I had been on a tour of the ruinous venue back in 1991, and was shocked at the deplorable condition it had gotten to. There was a TOTAL absence of any color in the plasterwork.... we had no idea what the interior once looked like [[as you can attest to in your images).

I think we can all appreciate just how crazy many opera folks had thought Dr. David DiChiera was to undertake this project. According to Theatre Historical Society... no theater had ever been so close to death, and been brought back to life as had the [[now) Detroit Opera House.

Your images make for a great "before" comparison to the "after" images that I'll be posting here... the transformation was [[bleep)ing AMAZING!!!

I'll start by re-posting your before image of the great balcony dome... followed by a current image with the dome lit up with the house lights dimmed... I like to call this dome [[suspended 6 stories above the orchestra level) "the skylight of paradise"...

[Gistok]

One other thing... many folks here think that the Detroit United Artists Theatre is beyond saving. But after looking at the ruinous condition of the Grand Circus Theatre, anything is possible... at a cost.

Now if a need is found for a restored UA, then it can be done. With 90% of the plasterwork of the Grand Circus Theatre replaced, the same can easily be said of the UA. All you need is some survivng plasterwork [[or some good images thereof), and it can be recreated. As Hardhat's images have shown, there are artisans and workers out there that can recreate the magic of the 1920s. It just depends on a need, and of course the real tricky part... deep pockets.

I think that the Ilitch folks have mothballed the UA complex, for a future use by Dan Gilbert [[just my personal opinion), who may plan on some future use for this venue and adjoining 18 story tower. It won't be cheap, but since the UA is only 1/2 the size of the Detroit Opera House [[sans the office tower), it won't be as large scale either.

We'll have to wait and see. But the UA is not beyond hope just yet....

[Gistok]

The glory of the Detroit Opera House are the massive organ grilles [[largest in Michigan), the Procenium arch... and above both... the exquisite blue and gold geometric sounding board.

It is this sounding board that gives the DOH much of its' marvelous acoustics. In an empty auditorium, you can be standing on stage, and hold a normal voice conversation with someone in the back row of the balcony [[about 175 ft. away).

Because this theatre was built between 2 radiating spokes of Judge Augustus Woodward's 1806 street plan, the auditorium of the DOH is very wide. There are 19 opera boxes, more than any theatre in Michigan [[the Fox has 17, and it too is a wide theatre). Because the DOH is so wide, it was not necessary to make the auditorium and balcony very deep. One reason for this lack of depth was because this venue was built as a vaudeville house... and therefore at great distances, with vaudeville you lose the intimacy with your audience.

Even though the venue never had a huge organ [[like the massiive Wurlitzer's at the Fox, Michigan and Fisher)... it was the huge organ grilles that [[according to our resident organ expert 56packman) helped make the sound of the Capitol Theatre organ the best in Detroit. [[Note: by the time the theatre was renamed the Grand Circus in 1960, the organ had already been gone 3 years.)

Well now for some pics of the gloriously restored Detroit Opera House auditorium...

1) A fisheye view from the stage towards the seats. This image makes the very wide auditorium seem rather narrow. Note also, this image is at least 10 years old, and shows the box and balcony levels back before restoration was completed. The box and balcony levels are unpainted and not gilded, also the back of the house and sidewalls are also unpainted.

2) looking from the orchestra level towards the right side of the DOH.

3) looking from the balcony level towards the left side of the DOH.

4) looking from the back of the auditorium towards the Procenium, organ grilles, sounding board and dome. This view shows the auditorium at its' finest.

[p69rrh51]

The Film Exchange Building 2310 Cass Avenue built in 1926. Also an image circa 1930 of the Film Exchange Building from the Burton Historic Collection.

[Gistok]

The Film Exchange Building has an interesting recent history. Whoever owned it started installing new windows as soon as the new west of Woodward baseball stadium was announced. Then the moment when the Lions wanted to be included, the west Foxtown site proved too small and the east Foxtown site was chosen. At that point all construction ceased for many years.

Only in recent years has the yellow brick building been painted white, a poor choice. Perhaps the owners still plan to cash in on a sports venue going on that site....

Time will tell...

[Gistok]

Next up... the State [[Fillmore) Theatre... built in 1925 for John Kunsky's theatre empire... the 1925 State replaced the 1913 built 1,300 seat [[first) Grand Circus Theatre, a venue that only lasted 11 years [[1913-23).

The State/Fillmore is located in the 12 story Francis Palms Building. Palms was a 19th Century Detroit businessman who was born in Belgium in the early 19th century, and was long dead by the time his family developed the 12 story building in his honor.

The State Theatre is very similar to the Capitol [[Detroit Opera House), in that it underwent an identity crisis during its long 87 year history.

In 1925 it was called the State Theatre.... in 1937 the name was changed to the Palms-State [[the Palms addition is obvious).... in 1949 the theatre was renamed to the Palms Theatre, and in 1982 it was renamed the State Theatre. Then in the early 1990s building/theatre owner Chuck Forbes leased it out to several groups, and it was called both "CLUBLAND" and "CLUB X" for a while, but still retained its' official "State Theatre" name. Finally in 2007 Live Nation, the promoter that was part of Clear Channel Communications until being spun off, changed the name to the Fillmore Theatre.... following the namesake Fillmore Theatres in San Francisco and New York.

Although there was a name change, Chuck Forbes is still the theatre and building owner... only leasing the venue to Live Nation.

Chuck Forbes never had the deep pockets to fully restore the State/Fillmore [[mainly the outer, rotunda and inner lobbies were restored)... so Live Nation has been doing piecemeal work on the Grand Foyer [[now finished) and the auditorium [[still a work in progress).

Originally the State Theatre had 2,994 seats when it opened in 1925, but that number has been reduced to 2,200 in the early 1990s, when the 1,500 seats on the main floor were removed [[still in storage), the sloped floor was terraced, a wooden dance floor was added, along with 2 higher levels of cabaret style seating [[that can even accommodate weddings and business luncheons). So today's main floor seating is 700 + 1500 seats remaining in the mezzanine and balcony levels. At some point in the future, the theatre can be changed and the original seating put back on the main floor.

Here's a Woodward fronting image of the 12 story Francis Palms Building with the simple Fillmore marquee...

More to come on the State/Fillmore...

[Gistok]

1915-30 was the golden age of movie palaces, especially 1925-30.

Most early movie houses were in a tame "Opera House Style" that had classic design elements such as Corinthian columns, Roman arches, Renaissance and Neoclassic detailing... sometimes in the plaster, other times with stencils.

C. Howard Crane was a master of old world styling for his venues, and it shows in the State Theatre. As movie palaces go... Crane was a member of the "old guard".... such as architects Thomas Lamb, John Eberson, and C.W. & George L. Rapp [[Rapp & Rapp). They were known as the "big 4 eastern firms". There were other more regional theatre architects, such as B. Marcus Priteca, Timothy Pfleuger, G. Albert Landsburgh [[all west coast), the Boeller Brothers [[Southwest). Hoffman & Henon [[mid-Atlantic), and other lesser known architects.

Ironically the architect of the largest of all the 1920s movie palaces, the 5,920 seat Roxy in New York [[razed in 1961) was an architect who did little in theatre design, but more in the way of office and commercial buildings. His name was Walter W. Ahlschlarger of Chicago. And his most famous contribution to Detroit was not a theatre, but the old Wagner Bread plant [[later Wonder Bread) on Grand River, which today has been transformed into Motor City Casino... however retaining Ahlschlager's gabled brick design into the casino facade, as well as adding it to the new hotel tower.

But anyway... Crane was one of the big 4 movie palace architects, and he and the other 3 architects kept using European opera houses and palaces as the models for their theatres until the mid 1920s. The State Theatre was one of Crane's last designs before he went off on his exotic adventures in 1926-29 for the theatres of the United Artists and Fox movie studios.

[p69rrh51]

1915-30 was the golden age of movie palaces, especially 1925-30.

Most early movie houses were in a tame "Opera House Style" that had classic design elements such as Corinthian columns, Roman arches, Renaissance and Neoclassic detailing... sometimes in the plaster, other times with stencils.

C. Howard Crane was a master of old world styling for his venues, and it shows in the State Theatre. As movie palaces go... Crane was a member of the "old guard".... such as architects Thomas Lamb, John Eberson, and C.W. & George L. Rapp [[Rapp & Rapp). They were known as the "big 4 eastern firms". There were other more regional theatre architects, such as B. Marcus Priteca, Timothy Pfleuger, G. Albert Landsburgh [[all west coast), the Boeller Brothers [[Southwest). Hoffman & Henon [[mid-Atlantic), and other lesser known architects.

Ironically the architect of the largest of all the 1920s movie palaces, the 5,920 seat Roxy in New York [[razed in 1961) was an architect who did little in theatre design, but more in the way of office and commercial buildings. His name was Walter W. Ahlschlarger of Chicago. And his most famous contribution to Detroit was not a theatre, but the old Wagner Bread plant [[later Wonder Bread) on Grand River, which today has been transformed into Motor City Casino... however retaining Ahlschlager's gabled brick design into the casino facade, as well as adding it to the new hotel tower.

But anyway... Crane was one of the big 4 movie palace architects, and he and the other 3 architects kept using European opera houses and palaces as the models for their theatres until the mid 1920s. The State Theatre was one of Crane's last designs before he went off on his exotic adventures in 1926-29 for the theatres of the United Artists and Fox movie studios.

Ahlschlager also designed the Detroit Towers at 8162 East Jefferson in 1922. The Towers displaced the J.B. Ford home that now resides on Windmill Pointe Drive.

[wolverine]

I was recently reading up on Chicago's Block 37, one of the biggest architectural tragedies when one of the city's most interesting and vibrant blocks was leveled for speculative development.

Two theaters designed by Crane stood on that block....the United Artists and the Roosevelt. Fortunately two of them still exist just a block a way and are part of the Goodman center.

[Gistok]

Thanks for the info p69rrh51 and wolverine. I've been trying to find images of the interior of the Roosevelt Theatre. Supposedly it was very reminiscent of the Capitol [[DOH).

Going off on a tangent for a moment. When folks say that the Detroit United Artists, or the Michigan Central Station, or even the Michigan Theatre are beyond restoration... I found this wonderful site.... and with enough money [[and government largesse rarely found in the USA)... check out what the rest of the world can do for restoration of buildings in worse shape than our ruins...
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=962506

This link is to another forum dedicated mainly to European reconstructions... mainly post WWII... but even modern reconstructions. This gives an inspiring view of historic preservation at its' finest... [[say why don't we have our own "Marshall Plan"??)

[wolverine]

It's not difficult to recreate the interiors of these theaters so as long as you either have original sets of drawings or photographs that can digitally be reconstructed and then be machine created.

[Patrick]

He did a good amount of residential work in Windsor too...

[Gistok]

Getting back to the State/Fillmore....

Many theatres located on the major street in towns and cities across America, often had just a small narrow entranceway, with the auditorium set way back, sometimes not even facing the main street... or if it did face the main street, the entrance and theatre would not be in alignment. This is how it was with the State. Although the Francis Palms Building commands about 2/3 of a block wide presence on Woodward, the theatre entrance originally took up only 1/5 of that building width, with the other part of the first floor facade being taken up by stores and the building entrance.

Right next to the State Theatre entrance there used to be a small hat store. However, many years ago this business closed, and the space was reused for the theatre entrance, by doubling the entranceway to the theatre. Since the store portion of the entrance had a plain ceiling, and the old theatre entrance half had a fancy ceiling, the whole was reconciled with a drop ceiling making the entire space appear uniform. It was not until the early 1990s that building owner Chuck Forbes changed this arrangement by eliminating the drop ceiling, and replicating the ornate ceiling and wall plasterwork onto the other half of the entranceway. So now the State/Fillmore outer [[or storm) lobby is twice the size it was in the early years.

Again, as I mentioned, space along a main thoroughfare was very expensive, so auditoriums were often quite a distance away from the street, and movie palace architects compensated for this distance by making for some beautiful lobby spaces to take the fact off of the minds of the patrons that they have some distance to travel before actually getting to the auditorium.

In the State/Fillmore, the [[widened) outer lobby opened up to an oval Rotunda Lobby, that had a set of horseshoe marble staircases that led some patrons onto the second [[mezzanine) level of the theatre lobby space. This 2 story rotunda lobby then opened up [[thru the holdout doors) to the 3 story Grand Foyer [[there were another pair of stairways that took some patrons up to the balcony level).

The 3 story Corinthian columned and barrel vaulted Grand Foyer finally led patrons to the auditorium. So when you entered the theatre, you passed some distance thru 3 lobbies before you finally got to the auditorium.... with each lobby grander than the one before. This finally prepared you for the magnificent 8 story auditorium space.

The State/Fillmore is built on a restricted site, so there was not a lot of space to build, thus making the auditorium rather narrow and tall. That was the only way to maximize the 2,994 seating count.

State/Fillmore Images [[courtesy of Forumer DecoJim)...

1) The outer [[storm lobby). This is only 1/2 [[the older half) of the lobby. In the later 20th century this lobby was doubled in width).
2) Rotunda Lobby. This shows part of the white marble horseshoe staircase, with crystal chandelier, and faux plaster marble columns encircling the lobby, with ornate plasterwork and stenciling.
3) Grand Foyer. This shows about 1/3 of the 3 story barrel vaulted space [[the bunting was temporary for a wedding). The Corinthian columns have gilded tops, and each level of the theatre opens up onto this space [[Orchestra, Mezzanine, Balcony).
4) The still unrestored auditorium looking out from the stage... that's me [[at the bottom of image 1/3 from the left) giving a Preservation Wayne tour.
5) The auditorium lit up with colorful lights looking up 8 stories towards the coffered ceiling.
6) Looking from the back of the balcony towards the Procenium and stage. The Procenium arch [[and its' twin knights in armor at its base) is the only part of the auditorium that has had the plasterwork restored. This image shows how narrow the auditorium is.
7) Closeup of the coffered ceiling dome 8 stories above the main floor.

[Krawlspace]

Always enjoy your very informative threads Gistok. Thank you for taking the time to not only provide the information but for presenting it in such an enjoyable way. I just wanted to add a couple of my favorite items about the State and also a bit of history. I worked at the State in what might best be described as assistant building engineer from 1997-2000. We were really more like a group of jack of all - master of none guys led by Ken Caldwell to address any and all building infrastructure issues in the Palms as well as the State. I was hired in on the State side. During my time there I was in almost every square inch of the theater from the fly grid to the sub basement to the top of the dome. Some features incorporated into the design really stuck with me and I think others might enjoy them as well.

I have photos of some of the places I'll describe but they're boxed in storage at the moment so I'll do my best. One thing I was happy to find was inside the Elizabeth St. storm lobby off the Grand Lobby. On both of the east & west walls are framed signs that say "Please strike match here", and the front the sign is ribbed glass to provide a rough surface to light strike anywhere matches so common in those days. I assume it was an attempt to keep the walls and trim from becoming marred as patrons lit up on the way out. It's not so much the significance of the signs but the fact that something like that survived all these years.

Another hidden gem is just inside the Grand Lobby from entering from the Front Lobby beneath the Mezzanine staircases. As soon as you walk in you're under a large medallion with a circular opening at the center. If you're lucky enough the next time you're in, someone might have flipped on the breaker to reveal a single bulb recessed fixture that shines light down through a lens to make a neat little shaft of light. The design allowed an usher to stand directly below and view patron's tickets as they entered and could then direct them to the correct aisle usher.

The dome holds a little secret as well. Next time you're inside, look for three panels of the dome on the lowest ring that are towards the lobby. You'll notice that they actually are missing the plaster rosettes and have them painted on instead. These three are actually part of a panel that opens up inside the attic above into a small room where spotlights were used. There are two cables on either side of the 8 foot panel attached to counter weights that allow for easy opening and closing. The room hasn't been used for lighting in years but the panel still opens smooth as can be. There's a very old wooden step ladder in the room that has hand painted "State Theater" on the side. Not sure why but I always thought that was cool. It's really a treat to shimmy out on the I-beam that crosses over the top of the dome that used to secure the chandelier. Quite a view looking down! I've used the pic you posted above for reference.





Probably the thing I am most proud of during my tenure there was the fact that I was responsible for getting the torchiers at the top of the Mezz staircases off the main lobby working again. The north one worked but had a bad socket and would flicker. The south light was DOA. I took a couple of afternoons to dissemble and rewire both back to the box inside the marble casing. It was during this little side project that I made a very cool discovery. Just under the Mezz staircases on the north & south sides are doors. The south door leads to what became the coat check but was the ice room when I was there. The north door opened into what we called the electrical room. This is where all the non stage auditorium breaker panels tie in. I had to move several bags of tile grout around in there to trace wires, and I noticed a small access panel that allowed entry under the steps of the north staircase. I grabbed my flash light and spent the next 3 hours literally excavating an area no bigger than 20 sq ft. There was 2-3 inches of thick, matted dust and dirt that held a wealth of amazing ephemera. I found over a dozen tickets from the 30's - the 50's, two dozen candy wrappers from the same era, a drivers license from 1955, a Groesbeck campaign pin, a pair of the clear style 3-D glasses I assume to be from the 40's or 50's, several internal run time sheets from the mid 30's, 2 posters for a candidate for Judge in the 30's and a memo on Publix Co. letterhead admonishing a theater employee for not moving a lamp from the "Oval Room" to another location as instructed, and many other items. The letter made me wonder if the Oval Room referred to was the oval staircase lobby and did some research up in the Manning Collection. Sure enough there was a photo showing a curved wall separating the Main Lobby from the staircases completing the oval. There were two doors on either side and in the center, facing the staircases was a large shell sculpture, possibly marble, greatly resembling some kind of fountain. It was after a conversation with ItsJeff that we found out that he knew the descendants of the candidate for Judge and we were able to get the better of the two posters back to them. I've again used the previous photo to show where the wall used to be on the right of the pic and where the electric room door is.




Here is a pic of some of the items I got from the access area. The Clubland stuff was found elsewhere.




I was really fortunate to have worked there. I enjoyed it quite a lot. I'll end with one [[sort of) funny anecdote. There had been significant damage to the art glass above the main bar area from popping champagne corks, etc. Apparently the problem of breakage was planned on as we had 3 crates of replacement panels, unopened, from 1925. It was decided to go ahead and replace the broken pieces, and someone took all the newspapers that were used as padding and threw them out! Mr. Forbes was livid and was cursing up a storm as that Scottish blood boiled. The dumpster was already emptied and they were lost forever.

I've got a lot more stories but I don't wish to thread jack too horribly. Thanks again Gistok! Looking forward to your next post.

[Gistok]

Thanks for all the history Krawlspace!! I certainly can picture Chuck Forbes being livid over the thrown away newspapers wrapped around the glass panels. Forbes sees treasures where other people don't.

Before getting back to Detroit's other Crane designed theatres, I wanted to shift the attention to some other theatres around the country that Crane designed.

One in particular was the 3000 seat Allen Theatre in Cleveland, part of the Playhouse Square theatre district that inspired Detroit's own theatre district. Playhouse Square is on Cleveland's Euclid Avenue, and consists of 5 nearby theatres [[4 on the same block). They are the 3,700 seat Palace [[Rapp & Rapp architects), the 3,500 seat State [[Thomas Lamb architect), the 3000 seat Allen [[C. Howard Crane architect), the 1,600 seat Ohio [[Thomas Lamb architect), the 1,400 seat Hanna [[Charles Platt architect). All 5 theatres were built between 1921-22, and are all in a classic tame style.

The Allen was part of the Toronto based Allen Theatre chain in Canada. An Allen Theatre was planned in both Cleveland and Detroit, but only the Cleveland theatre was ever built before the Allen chain went bankrupt in 1923.

I'm going to only mention a few things about the Allen. One is that at the back of the main floor [[orchestra) level of the auditorium, there was an oval gallery that looked down from above. This oval gallery was nearly identical to one used in Detroit's former 1917 built Madison Theatre [[auditorium razed 2002). This type of gallery contained restrooms above, as well as hallways and circulation space. This must not have been very popular with patrons seated below, since noise [[and lord knows what else) must have filtered down from the railing enclosed gallery. The use of this type of gallery was not used in Crane designed theatres after 1921, and for obvious reasons.

[Gistok]

Crane designed the 3009 seat Allen Theatre in Cleveland in an almost Pompeiian Italian style. Later the seating was reduced to about 2,500 seats after a 1998 $15 million renovation.

Here is a website with many nice images of the Allen, including its' beautiful circular lobby rotunda....
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/3728/photos

Since Cleveland overextended themselves with their Playhouse Square district, it was decided in 2008 to "shrink" down the Allen Theatre into 3 smaller modern venues of 514, 314 and 150 seats. Unlike Detroit's Fisher Theatre, where every bit of the ornate plaster was hacked out of the shell, the Allen underwent a bizarre transformation in to 3 smaller legitimate theatres with views of the ornate plasterwork peeking thru in different areas, although the balcony was completely closed off....

http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index....levelands.html

This is not everyone's cup of tea and it certainly got a lot of criticism. I don't much care for this $32 million dollar transformation... but at least if in the future they ever want to rip it all out again... the original ornate theatre is still there!

[Gistok]

The largest theatre in New England opened in 1925 in Boston. It was called the Metropolitan Theatre, but later renamed to Music Hall, and again renamed in the 1980s to The Wang Center [[after the computer wiz, donor Dr. An Wang), and more recently renamed The Citi Center for the Performing Arts.

The Metropolitan Theatre opened with about 4,000 seats, nearly 1,000 more than any other Boston Theatre. The architect was New England theatre architect Clarence Blackall. For some unknown reason Blackall brought C. Howard Crane aboard to help design the Metropolitan. Crane's architectural additions can be seen by the similarities to some of his Detroit commissions, such as the State Theatre.

Attached are 3 images of the Metropolitan, which today has about 3,600 seats...
1) the auditorium looking towards the stage.
2) the auditorium looking towards the balcony.
3) the 5 story grand lobby with Roman arches similar to Crane's State Theatre. This space may not be familiar at first sight. But some of the scenes from Jack Nicholson's house in "The Witches of Eastwick", especially the grand staircase, were filmed here.

[Gistok]

Some cities around the country lost all or nearly all their downtown movie palaces, thus making it difficult to have a large theatre district, except as new builds at great cost.

Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cincinnati and Minneapolis fall into this category... as does Washington DC, where only the C. Howard Crane designed 1924 Warner Theatre [[origianlly called the Earle) survives in central DC. The Warner was a very elegant classical theatre that Crane designed, with about 1,800 seats.

Even though the Warner was the only remaining theatre in downtown DC, preservationists still had an uphill battle against a belligerent owner who was set on demolishing it for another development. Eventually smarter heads ruled, and the Warner underwent a wonderful restoration.

I was just reading some reviews about the Warner... and some say... "what's the best performance venue in DC? Sorry Kennedy... it's the Warner". [[Referring of course to the modern Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.)

The Warner is used annually for the BET Awards, and is located only 3 blocks from the White House.

1) the very richly appointed auditorium of the 1,800 seat Warner Theatre.
2) the central chandelier of the auditorium dome. Most of the dome is unadorned, thus making the chandelier and its' "necklace" ceiling fixture stand out.
3) the lobby of the Warner has a rich gilded ceiling reminiscent of the ceiling of Versailles Hall of Mirrors.
4) the corner entry of the Warner shows that it [[like many Detroit Crane designed theatre's) is part of an office building. Only here the auditorium is not hidden in back, but part of the facade [[where the facade windows are missing).

[beachboy]

...Washington DC, where only the C. Howard Crane designed 1924 Warner Theatre [[origianlly called the Earle) survives in central DC. ... and some say... "what's the best performance venue in DC? Sorry Kennedy... it's the Warner".

Thank you, Gistok, for the excellent series on Crane! Please keep posting these very interesting articles!

The Earle Theater featured a 3manual 10rank Kimball organ installed in 1924. Looking at the interior pics you posted, is the proscenium outlined in filigreed plaster grilles? If so, do the upright portions of the grillework front organ chambers? Given the small size of the original organ, one wonders...

[Gistok]

Thanks beachboy! I'm not sure [[would have to ask 56packman and our other resident organ experts on that one)... but with the absence of regular organ grilles on either side of the auditorium, one would think that the Procenium could very well double as an organ grille.

However, on second thought if the organ chambers were directly behind the Procenium, instead of the usual place on either side of it... it might be quite an obstacle to the backstage areas [[stage left and stage right). But you do bring up a good question... since I'm still trying to figure out exactly where the organ chambers to the State/Fillmore were?? [[Organ removed in 1957) I'd like to hear from 56packman or Detroitbob on that one...

I'm doing Crane's history in chronological order, so the his studio chain exotic theatre's are coming up pretty soon. But I've hit a dead end on finding any info or images for his later [[1930s) London theatres. I did learn that some of his best work in the UK suffered from damage... but not of the kind here in the USA... neglect... In Britain some of his best theatres [[such as the Graumont in greater London)... suffered from WWII bombing... and the interiors no longer survive.

Also, Crane's greatest contribution to Britain... London's Earls Court Convention Center... will be the site of some of the 2012 London Olympics games.

[Gistok]

When French born architect Paul Phillipe Cret was given the 1923-27 commission to design the Detroit Institute of Arts, part of that project included a theatre.

Cret, who designed many buildings in the Beaux Arts style was not familiar with theatre design, and Albert Kahn told Cret that he should have Crane design it, which he did.

The 1927 built 1,150 seat DIA theatre [[today used for a popular film series) was Crane's work, although the exterior was likely designed by Cret.

At the time the DIA was completed, some high brow patrons were aghast that Crane used Scagliola. Scagliola is a mixture of materials that can produce a marble look to walls and columns in colors that can look better than real marble. Terrazzo is a similar material. Scagliola became fashionable in Italy in the 17th century, as a cheap alternative to real marble. Some DIA patrons felt that the theatre should have used real materials, rather than what most movie palaces used for their decorative scheme. The furor soon subsided, however... without any changes to the theatre.

The DIA Theatre is designed in a tasteful and tame classic style. One feature of the theatre that is likely Cret's work is the fire escape on the exterior. Most theatre fire escapes are made of metal, and actually look rather cheesy, but the DIA Theatre fire escape is considered by many theatre architects to be the 2nd finest in the country... after the onion dome and minaret fire escape of the Atlanta Fox Theatre [[which was also used a Masonic lodge)... known as "The Xanadu on Peach Street".

[Gistok]

Theatre renovations are very common among movie houses. The 1928 Chicago United Artists Theatre by C. Howard Crane [[razed 1990s) was a new theatre built into the shell of the gutted classic style 1921 built Apollo Theatre. Crane put an exotic Spanish Gothic interior into a building with a Neoclassic exterior.

In Detroit Crane did a conversion, but it was from a synagogue to a theatre. The 1902-03 built Temple Beth-El on lower Woodward in Midtown, was designed by Albert Kahn. In 1922 Temple Beth-El moved to a new location farth up on Woodward [[following the migration of Detroit's Jewry). They sold the temple to [[then) famous drama coach Jessie Bonstelle [[1871-1932) who wanted to turn the former Temple Beth-El into a playhouse.

Jessie Bonstelle hired Crane to rebuild the Synagogue as a drama theatre. Crane added a stage house, and a small ticket lobby.

The Synagogue was renamed the Bonstelle Playhouse, until she retired in 1928, then with an ownership change, it became the Detroit Civic Theatre, and in the 1930s it became the Mayfair Theatre... until the 1950s, when WSU first leased and later purchased it [[1956) for use for their undergraduate drama program. WSU renamed the theatre back to the Bonstelle Theatre, which is the name it still uses today.

Unfortunately, Crane's facade modifications [[addition of lobby space) were not spared the "facade-ectomy" of the Woodward widening of the 1930s, and the theatre approach was changed.

[Gistok]

1926 was a big year for downtown movie theatres... it was when many movie palace architects started their "fling" with exotic movie houses, especially in the downtown houses.

Exotic movie palaces were around earlier in the decade, but in small numbers. In 1922 Grauman's Egyptian Theatre [[1,800 seats, restored) opened up in Holllywood California. It was a prophetic opening, since by November of that year King Tut's tomb would make world headllines. And there were other early theatres... the Houston Majestic [[2,116 seats, razed) was the first full atmospheric theatre designed by John Eberson [[he designed the Grand Riviera [[2,786 seats, razed) and Annex [[1,800 seats, razed) in that style along Grand River in Detroit).

But it was the 1926 opening of Rapp & Rapp's Chicago Oriental Theatre [[3,217 seats, restored as the Ford Center for the Performing Arts) that started the tide for exotic theatre's.

Rapp & Rapp perfected "ciculation space" for theatre traffic flow in 1921 with the opening of their Chicago Theatre [[3,880 seats, restored) and Chicago's Tivoli Theatre [[3,414 seats, razed). By 1926 Rapp & Rapp's largest theatre in their preferred French style known as "Rapp & Rapp Versailles" opened up in Detroit... the Michigan Theatre [[4,050 seats, partially gutted).

It was ironic that C. Howard Crane moved his architectural offices to the top 2 floors of the Michigan Theatre. This was soon after the August 23, 1926 opening of the Michigan. Why he moved into that building seems rather odd when you think about it, but perhaps leases in the Financial District [[where he previously had his offices) got expensive, and maybe his theatre impressario friend John Kunsky [[who at that point was working with the Paramount-Publix group) gave him a good deal on a lease for not giving him the largest theatre commission to date in Detroit.

For whatever reason, Crane designed his best theatres... for the United Artists and Fox Studio chains... starting in 1926 from the top floors of the Michigan Building.

[Gistok]

Although it lists only about 1/3 of his North American theatres, this website [[lacking in images unfortunately), lists 82 theatres accredited to C. Howard Crane....
http://cinematreasures.org/architects/24

Although this 2nd site is specific to Michigan theatres, it does have a nice collection of images to go with each theatre. So if there's a Crane designed Michigan based theatre on the first website above, specific images of that theatre may be fouind on this second website...
http://www.waterwinterwonderland.com/moviehouse.aspx

[beachboy]

When French born architect Paul Phillipe Cret was given the 1923-27 commission to design the Detroit Institute of Arts, part of that project included a theatre.

...which has a very nice Romantically voiced organ [[wouldn't ya know?) - Casavant Op. 1200, 4 manuals, 77 ranks ... specs at:

http://database.organsociety.org/Sin...?OrganID=27239

and most of the manual ranks are extended [[73 notes instead of the usual 61)!!
The above webpage says "...in use, but in need of restoration."

Have any DYers heard this organ?

Keep goin', Gistok, your posts are terrific!!