Industrial Mutual Association Auditorium

The Industrial Mutual Association Auditorium was an auditorium located at 815 East 2nd Avenue in Flint, Michigan. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and removed in 1997.[1]

Industrial Mutual Association Auditorium
Location815 E. 2nd Ave., Flint, Michigan
Coordinates43°1′12″N 83°41′31″W
Area1.5 acres (0.61 ha)
Built1929 (1929)
ArchitectSmith, Hinchman & Grylls
Architectural styleRomanesque Revival
Demolished1997
NRHP reference No.83000849[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJuly 28, 1983
Removed from NRHPNovember 12, 1997

In 1901, the Flint Vehicle Factories Mutual Benefit Association (FVFMBA) was established by manufacturers in the Flint area. The Association provided benefits to workers in the event of sickness, injury or death, and was funded by contributions from their paychecks. In 1915, the Industrial Fellowship League (IFL) was founded by Charles Stewart Mott, with Walter P. Chrysler as chairman. The League offered workers recreational and educational activities. In 1922, the FVFMBA and the IFL merged to form the Industrial Mutual Association of Flint.[2]

In 1927, the IMA purchased the Randall Lumber and Coal Company property in downtown Flint. There, they constructed an athletic park and an auditorium. The auditorium was constructed in 1929 at a cost of $1.2 million,[3] and financed through mandatory deductions from local autoworkers' pay. The Auditorium served as the venue for many of Flint's athletic, entertainment and social events for the next 50 years.[4] The IMA eventually sold the Auditorium to the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.[2]

The last event hosted by the Auditorium occurred in 1979. The Auditorium was incorporated into the AutoWorld theme park, which opened in 1984 and limped along until closing permanently in 1994. The IMA Auditorium was imploded in 1997. The location where it once stood is now a part of the University of Michigan–Flint campus.[4]

Description

The Industrial Mutual Association Auditorium was a six-story[3] Romanesque Revival structure. Inside, the building contained halls, offices, gymnasiums, and an auditorium that seated nearly 7000 people.[5]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. "Homepage". Industrial Mutual Association. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  3. Cheryl Dennision (October 1, 2015). "The Late, Great IMA Auditorium". My City Magazine.
  4. Dominic Adams (August 7, 2014). "#FlintTBT: IMA Auditorium was downtown Flint entertainment hub for 50 years". MLive.
  5. Federal Writers' Project (2013), The WPA Guide to Michigan: The Great Lakes State, Trinity University Press, p. 278, ISBN 9781595342201
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