3.09.2010

THE MAJESTIC THEATER DETROIT MICHIGAN


The Majestic Theatrer, designed by C. Howard Crane, opened on April 1, 1915. The theatre originally seated 1,651 people (at the time the largest theatre in the world built for the purpose of showing movies), and the facade was designed in an arcaded Italian style. In 1934, the front 35 feet of the theatre were removed when Woodward Avenue was widened to its present size. The entire facade was redesigned into its current striking Art Deco motif. The theater now boasts the largest enameled metal panel Art Deco facade in the Detroit metropolitan region.

The theatre eventually closed, and the building was used as a church for a time, and later as a photographic studio. It lay vacant for ten years. The present owner purchased the building in 1984.

There is a myth that legendary magician Harry Houdini gave his last performance on stage here, on Halloween night 1926. In fact, Houdini last performed at the Garrick Theatre in Detroit and died a few days later of peritonitis at Detroit's Grace Hospital on October 31, 1926.


I first saw Jimmy Cliff play here and since then I have been thinking about renting it for different events. The Majestic Theatre is a theatre located at 4126-4140 Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

Today, the theatre is mainly a music venue. It hosts a variety of musical concerts in three separate areas of the building: The Majestic, The Majestic Cafe, and The Magic Stick.

3 comments:

Cheryl Sinclair said...

Kim, your posts re:Detroit have done more to revitalize the perception of that city than anything I have ever seen. You should contact the mayor Mr. Bing and be chief of PR!

David Earl Stark said...

"Ditto Cheryl!!!!"

Tony Lozito said...

"When you rent it for a gig let us know right away!"

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