Ann Arbor in Washtenaw County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Michigan Theatre
Photographed By J.T. Lambrou, December 31, 2023
1. Michigan Theatre Marker
placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places
by The United States
Department of the Interior
Erected 1980 by United States Department of the Interior.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Entertainment. A significant historical date for this entry is January 5, 1928.
Location. 42° 16.766′ N, 83° 44.509′ W. Marker is in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in Washtenaw County. Marker is at the intersection of East Liberty Street and Maynard Street, on the right when traveling west on East Liberty Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 603 East Liberty Street, Ann Arbor MI 48104, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Uptown Theaters (within shouting distance of this marker); From Liveries to Taxis (within shouting distance of this marker); Ideation Building (within shouting distance of this marker); The James Foster House of Art (within shouting distance of this marker); Town and Gown: Entertainment and Changing Culture (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Ann Arbor High School (about 500 feet away); FUMC's BSA Troop 4 (about 500 feet away); A Second Shopping District (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ann Arbor.
Also see . . .
this page online
1. Nomination Form for NRHP. Excerpt
The Michigan Theater Building is a large, two-story block facing south on East Liberty Street in the heart of Ann Arbor's central business district. Constructed in 1927, the structure consists of the Michigan Theater itself--an 1827-seat auditorium oriented with its stage at the west end and entrances at the east and connected to East Liberty Street by lobbies extending in a north-south direction--and, facing on the street in front of the theater and flanking its entranceway, a business block section containing seven stores on the first floor and offices above.(Submitted on January 13, 2024, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan.)
The building's exterior is constructed of brown brick, with cement and terra cotta trimmings. The facade's main section, a three-bay wide section containing the theater entrance and one store front on either side, is Lombard Romanesque in style. The remaining part of the facade toward the west (six of the seven stores are located to the west of the theater entrance) is more simply constructed with a band of square-head double-hung, sash windows topped by a continuous, concrete, lintel band in the second floor. In this western part of the facade, two slightly recessed sections that front on the stairwells to the second floor are each decorated with multi-colored, square, brick patchwork and a concrete lozenge in the center containing a black marble medallion.The roofline parapet of each section carries the name of the building. In 1956 most of the building's first floor facade was refaced with black marble and imitation fieldstone trim and a metal signboard installed above the shop windows running the full length of the structure on either side of the theater entrance. The present theater marquee was installed in 1945.Photographed By J.T. Lambrou, December 31, 20232. Michigan Theatre MarkerThe marker is below the Get Real poster.
The Romanesque theater entrance is the highlight of the exterior. The columns, arches, and other Romanesque elements confined to the second floor since the first was remodeled in 1956, are executed in cream-color terra cotta. Decorative aprons above the second-floor "arcade" sections to either side of the theater entrance block contain lozenges of green and blue terra cotta. The rondelles in the tympana of those arches are of bright red terra cotta, while the four-petal flowers within the rondelles are blue.
2. Michigan Theatre. (Submitted on January 13, 2024, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan.)
Photographed By J.T. Lambrou, December 31, 2023
3. Michigan Theatre
Photographed By J.T. Lambrou, December 31, 2023
4. Michigan Theatre Sign
Credits. This page was last revised on January 24, 2024. It was originally submitted on January 13, 2024, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan. This page has been viewed 47 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on January 13, 2024, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
