Lasky Theatre burned

**Hamtragedy** · May-12-09, 09:13 PM

The fire bugs have been pretty rampant the last few years in the Davison / Jos. Campau area, so much so that Saturday, heading south on Dequindre, I didn't pay much attention to the fire looking east toward the end of the Eastbound Davison. Monday morning, heading out of Hamtramck, Jos Campau was blocked off by police at Davison. Lasky Theatre/Furniture, and subsequent short lived cold storage facility was burned substantially, so much so that Tuesday, they're already tearing it down.

Sorry, I suck at taking pictures, but it appears from accross the freeway that the outer structure, which surrounds the inner theater, sustained a ton of damage, [[no roof, glass block windows blown out, already being demoed). What's the history there? The theatre seems to face south, as the tower is at the south east corner of the building.

Gistok?

Sludgedaddy · May-12-09, 09:41 PM

Ham, lived in the Klinger/ Halleck area for the past 30 years. Arsons have been occuring just about on a daily basis. Abandoned house went up this morning 3/4 of a block behind me this morning and took two others with it.

Lots of vacant properties have been recently boarded up with fresh plywood probably as a result of international media atention due to the influx of artist types enthralled by the lure of 100 dollar homesteads. I've seen more police presence lately, also, Nevertheless, additonal blighted houses have gone up in flames on Moran near Carpenter. Arsonists or rumored Speculators or insurance scammers? It appears to be anyone's guess.

In regards to the Lasky conflageration....when my group of friends were in our teens we would joke and say that R&B legend, Emmanuel Lasky's [[Welfare Cheese) father owned Lasky Furniture.

I was never aware that the former furniture store was once a theater. More info on this,please.

**FlyingJ** · May-12-09, 10:34 PM

Famous Players/Lasky-as in Jesse, became Paramount Studios
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_L._Lasky
I gave his grandson a lift a few years ago, nice old guy...all the family money was gone & he lived in a fairly dingy apt. in the Valley will his generic cigarettes & oxygen tank. Invest wisely, kids

**Trumpeteer** · May-12-09, 10:37 PM

The furniture store on West Vernor is the former Rio Theatre. Used to go there in the early 60's on Saturday to watch 2 movies and get popcorn and a drink for less than a dollar.

**reddog289** · May-13-09, 12:19 AM

Another name I haven't heard in a while. Lasky Furniture.

**Patrick** · May-13-09, 01:05 PM

I never understood the mentality of arsonists in Detroit. Are they kids just fucking around? Drive through many areas and it is a fucking desolate wasteland. Is this a thrill-seeking thing?

**mikeinmotown** · May-15-09, 02:09 PM

Originally Posted by Hamtragedy

The fire bugs have been pretty rampant the last few years in the Davison / Jos. Campau area, so much so that Saturday, heading south on Dequindre, I didn't pay much attention to the fire looking east toward the end of the Eastbound Davison. Monday morning, heading out of Hamtramck, Jos Campau was blocked off by police at Davison. Lasky Theatre/Furniture, and subsequent short lived cold storage facility was burned substantially, so much so that Tuesday, they're already tearing it down.

Sorry, I suck at taking pictures, but it appears from accross the freeway that the outer structure, which surrounds the inner theater, sustained a ton of damage, [[no roof, glass block windows blown out, already being demoed). What's the history there? The theatre seems to face south, as the tower is at the south east corner of the building.

Gistok?

My grandfather worked at Laskys Furniture in the 1960's. I thought it was tore done years ago.

**Gistok** · May-15-09, 03:15 PM

Sorry but I can't add any more than the 2 excellent websites that Toolbox already posted.

For some reason Googling doesn't always get good results... but you may want to add those 2 theatre websites to your Favorite Websites list... they are a treasure trove of Michigan theatre history and information, as well as anecdotal comments posted by people who remember when the theatres were still open.

My main specialty is downtown movie palaces around the country.

Maybe 56packman or Krawlspace can add more info...

**Hamtragedy** · May-17-09, 02:53 AM

Thanks for those links. I came accross them somewhere in my search.

I did actually go inside there last week. The demolition bees were out there in full force nearly every afternoon this week, including the brick guys and the guys with the torches.

Viewing the structure from Campau on the Davison overpass, the "barn" [[it looks like a scaled down Olympia), or the theater section itself, is being torn down last. The theater itself faces south, [[the stage is at the southeast corner of the complex), and is completely bricked off from the surrounding "exterior" structure. There are windows visible from this portion of the structure as you drive by on Campau, behind a demolished portion.

So I walk around the back to the alley east of the building, and the old double doors on the barn are open, in both places. [[No exterior fire-escape like the Riviera, or Orchestra Hall, as this building is much smaller). Opposite the openings are two matching doorways on the other side. I'm in, and see one of the welders takin' a leak near where there once was a screen. The floor has no slope, and I walk to the middle of the theater, and stand dead center in the middle of the old Lasky Theater.

The theater portion was ripped out in the early fifties. So was the organ. A large cinder block freight elevator shaft sits nearly to stage right. A view upwards reveals steel supports holding up a second floor. The theater ceiling isn't visible from here. Apparently when the structure was built, in 1911 or 23 [[I'm thinkin 23 because my house is 1919, 8 blocks south), it was built as both a theater and a furniture store. I wonder if the furniture store used this newer "second floor" as some kind of crazy show room, because the entire theater ceiling is only visible from here.

As I work my way to the rear of the theater [[the barn), I finally catch a glimpse of the ceiling's green cove and smoke covered gold rosettes. I also notice those ornamented service "cutouts" in the ceiling that all old theaters seem to have. [[What are these? It looks like someone could walk up there. The State has them, the Fox, Grand Circus theater, the Vanity. The Lasky was one of the first to have AC, any corallation?)

Finally, at the rear of the barn I see in the brickwork where previous steel had been removed line the entire rear of the building. Was there a balcony, or was the building going to fall any minute?

No demolition was visible from inside the "barn" aside from a few burnt timbers lying on the ground at the rear east exit. I walked out.

Did anyone here ever visit the Lasky Furniture showroom?.

**eno** · August-11-13, 11:56 AM

From Galbraith's "Motor City Marquees", the Lasky Theater, 13320 Jos. Campau, Detroit, had a capacity of 998 and was opened on June 20, 1926. According to Galbraith, the theater closed in 1949, "a victim of the growing popularity of television.