Majestic Theater (Detroit, Michigan)

The Majestic Theatre is a theatre located at 4126-4140 Woodward Avenue in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.[1]

The Majestic Theatre
Majestic Theatre from across Woodward
Location4120-4140 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, Michigan
Coordinates42°21′5″N 83°3′37″W
Built1915
ArchitectC. Howard Crane;
Bennett & Straight
Architectural styleArt Deco
NRHP reference No.08000577[1]
Added to NRHPJuly 02, 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.

History

The Majestic Theatre, designed by C. Howard Crane, opened on April 1, 1915.[2] The theatre originally seated 1,651[2] people (at the time the largest theatre in the world built for the purpose of showing movies[3]), and the facade was designed in an arcaded Italian style.[2] 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 by the firm of Bennett & Straight. The theater now boasts the largest enameled metal panel Art Deco facade in the Detroit metropolitan region.[2]

The theatre eventually closed, and the building was used as a church for a time, and later as a photographic studio.[3] It lay vacant for ten years. The present owner purchased the building in 1984.[3]

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.

On October 25, 2019, The Majestic Theatre unveiled its new Marquee facing Woodward Avenue. This new facade is part of a greater renovation plan made public by the venue's owners in Spring 2018. The owner's pledged to put $1,000,000 of renovations into the building.[4]

Current use

The Majestic Theatre operates as part of the Majestic Theatre Center, which includes the nearby Garden Bowl bowling alley, The Majestic Cafe, The Magic Stick, and Sgt. Pepperoni's.[5]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. "Seven Michigan Properties Added to the National Register of Historic Places," Archived 2008-12-09 at the Wayback Machine press release, Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL), Aug. 7, 2008
  3. Leyland DeVito, Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine "Joe Zainea: A Conversation," The Detroiter, May 31, 2007
  4. Brian McCollum (October 25, 2019). "Majestic Theatre's new marquee gives Woodward a touch of classic old-school". , Detroit Free Press.
  5. The Majestic Theater Center
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