The Decrepit United Artists Theater Detroit (A Must See!)

[LMich]

Perhaps, this should have gone in the Buildings & Architecture forum, but I thought this was a must see. Below are photos taken by SOUTHEN (http://www.flickr.com/photos/southen/), one of the best amateur photographers of Detroit's derelict buildings you'll find out there these days. He recently did a photo of Detroit's abandoned United Artist Theater, once one of downtown Detroit's largest and most grand cinemas, that I had to share. The state and story of the United Artists represents, perfectly, one of the far extremes of Detroit, and the stereotypical images that come to the minds of most Americans when they hear "Detroit." In this case "bombed out" would be an apt description to say the least. The theatre and adjoining office tower are currently, for the first time in years, seriously be marketed for redevelopment, or if they can't find someone to take the project on, demolition.

Some background...

The United Artists Theater was built primarily for cinema (though, it also staged sporadic theater shows) in the heart of Detroit's Necklace District in 1927. The C. Howard Crane-designed, Spanish Gothic-styled theater and office tower opened on February 3rd, 1928. It contained 2,070 seats and the complex costed $1.2 million, at the time. The office tower was built in case the theater flopped.

As with most many downtowns at the time, downtown Detroit began to decline in the 1960's, and the cinema showed porno in its last years before closing in 1971. All of the theaters assets were sold off in 1975 and it was shuttered for good. The office tower remained viable, though, until the 1984 when downtown was at its worst, and it too, was shuttered.

Both have suffered SIGNIFICANT neglect sense then having been owned by Mike Ilitch of Little Cesars fame (or infamy). Again, as of 2006, the building and theater are actively being marketed for reuse or demolition.

The pictures (slightly retouched):

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/142/338875928_0f2c286da6_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/165/338876865_17350852ec_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/143/338878151_17f2cf99a2_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/138/338879082_35d3dae9d1_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/130/338880438_19f296ddea_b.jpg

This is some real, bleak-future, Phantom of the Opera remake schitt.

Exterior:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/4/4904138_f2f779626f_b.jpg
UrbanTiki - http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbantiki/

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/37/111738771_98f1854cbc_b.jpg
tomcampion - http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomcampion/

[LMich]

To show you how ironic those scenes are, here is the Fox Theatre, literally blocks away, and one of the best selling theaters in ALL of America, and one smaller than Radio City in NYC if I remember correctly. Ironically, this theater is ALSO owned by Mike Ilitch:

All photos taken by BuildingsOfDetroit (http://www.flickr.com/photos/snweb/), please be sure to check out his photos:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/30/50097596_2520b9796e_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/31/42545447_e5b06c1871_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/29/41220693_1cc9ebd0e3_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/33/47878314_9bd1cada37_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/26/42545067_7458399d93_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/31/42544857_72b65798c1_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/23/40151014_b577485a16_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/26/50377861_9394c12b16_b.jpg

Exterior

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/152/335849197_a61dcded3a_b.jpg
I am Jacques Strappe - http://www.flickr.com/photos/i_am_jacques_strappe/

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/43/95650543_6f1179e094_b.jpg
SOUTHEN - http://www.flickr.com/photos/southen/

Not only this, but you have the opulent State Theater, Detroit Opera House, all within walking distance.

[atl2phx]

wow, what a contrast......extreme neglect to pristine preservation!

[fangorangutang]

Holy shit. Wow. That's really sad.

[BnaBreaker]

That's incredible. How could we let such a gorgeous structure just die like that?

[hauntedheadnc]

It should be restored. Actually, "should be" is way too mild a term, but my God where would you even begin?

[LMich]

At this point, a full restoration (barring some billionaire wanting to dump his whole fortune into restoring this thing) isn't even much of an option. It will have to be reconstructed, first, and then the most I could hope for is a decent renovation.

BTW, I've kind of already turned this into a theater thread, so here are some more photos from BuildingsOfDetroit (http://www.flickr.com/photos/snweb/) of the Detroit Opera House and State Theatre, I mentioned. Please be sure to check out BuildingsOfDetroit albums:

Detroit Opera House

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/98/244273874_059173922b_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/24/36869298_72d47aba5d_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/33/37038621_7680dbdbe0_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/51/124537078_da42747242_b.jpg

State Theatre

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/21/34348017_9bbb73b459_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/23/34347906_738219571c_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/23/34775015_d0b229729b_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/21/34956821_7d58016a5d_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/41/74624095_0a02151a74_b.jpg

[DANTHEDISCOMAN]

C'mon Detroit, start restoring that thing...I will start by giving a dollar and the rest of the 60 million dollars can be easily divided amongst the rest of the Michiganian forumers which when you think about it will probally only come out to about 3-6 million each, don't be greedy guys. :D

[LSyd]

that sad. i like the colorful graffiti on the outside though, that's really cool, it almost looks like stained glass.

-

[DetroitSTAR]

that sad. i like the colorful graffiti on the outside though, that's really cool, it almost looks like stained glass.

-

All that was removed weeks before the Super Bowl back in January. It was actually somewhat of a tourist spot before...now it's just another empty building.:yuck:

[The-New-Tony-Detroit]

I am absolutely in love with the theatres we have still - restored and not - in the downtown area. I'm going to try to drum up some shots of some of the other ones.

Excellent finds Lmich!

[skyfan]

The UA highlights another one Detroit's great contrast with such decayed and beautiful theaters. The irony is that the city's decline actually saved some of our theaters, the former Capitol Theater(now Detroit Opera House pictured above) and Orchestra Hall sat empty for over a decade before being restored in the 1990's. Other major cities, still maintained enough life that they would've been demolished for new uses. An example would be Philly which I think has just one downtown movie palace left.

Even if the UA weren't in such bad shape, the rising fortures of downtown would doom it anyway. There is just no demand for another large, live stage theater downtown and I don't see anyone taking the money and risk to show movies again. The office block is in good shape and a great canidate for residental use, meaning it will probably be gutted for another ground floor use or demolished entirely for parking to serve the building.

[Scruffy]

isn{t detroit also home to the beautiful rundown showplace that got turned into a parking lot_

[skyfan]

Yup, that would be the Michigan Theater which was next door to the UA. The building's owner in order keep the office building occupied turned the theater into a garage. Ironically, Henry Ford built his first car in a shop on that very site which lead to the city's boom that created the theater and the auto dependence which lead to it's death.

UA and Michigan Theaters
http://www.waterwinterwonderland.com/images/moviehouse/784/a%5Eold_photo.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7f/MichiganTheaterlobbyDetroit.jpg

[TNTK]

In the first pics the curtains don't even look like they are in that bad shape, but the rest of the theater, no comment.

[flar]

Incredible

[spyguy]

Great location for a horror movie of some sort.

[The-New-Tony-Detroit]

Even with the UA and Michigan theatres in disrepair... I agree with skyfan that Detroit is years ahead of other cities in what it has restored and kept: Fox, State, Opera House, Orchestra Hall, Fisher, Masonic Temple, Music Hall, the Gem and Century are all thriving and National is being restored slowing into... well whatever it's being restored into.

[pwright1]

Lord have mercy!! Some of the most beautiful architecture in N.A. sits in Detroit Michigan. How can something so beautiful and grand though so run down, have a wrecking ball thought in anyone's mind. Also the one that's now a parking garage just blew me away.

[Fabb]

The rapidity and the extent of the decrepitude leave me skeptical. Was this theatre built to last ?

[GRap]

thats probably from a combination of american builders, vandalism, and harsh winters

[1ajs]

real sad to see such beutifull spaces and buildings go to waste like this :(

[Robert Pence]

The rapidity and the extent of the decrepitude leave me skeptical. Was this theatre built to last ?

A lot of buildings of that era used a lot of copper roof components like flashing and drainage systems, and some even had copper roofs. The copper was stolen and sold for scrap, rainwater and snowmelt got in, and the buildings went to hell very quickly.

[miketoronto]

Detroit has an amazing amount of grand old theatres. While the UA is not restored, many are as you can see in the pics.

Man did they know how to build theatres before :) Just amazing.

These theatres are a key in the revival of downtown Detroit. They are something that just can't be made today.

[skyfan]

It certainly was built to last. But 30 years of exposure to the elements- that light you see shining through isn't from skylights- and vandals will do this America or not.

[miketoronto]

What is that modern extension to the Detroit Opera House? Why was that added? It does not seem to go with the older part of the building.

[LMich]

That modern extension is just what you said, an extension to the Opera House.

[hudkina]

I like the old facade. I wonder if it is still there or if it was removed long ago.

[LMich]

Isn't the part along GCP a whole new construction?

[illmatic774]

The building, in its historical sense, is unsalvagable. My mind cannot even imagine this coming back, a la Fox Theatre. It will have to be gutted and turned into a residential or office property completely.

I've never actually seen the inside of the UA. It's beautiful.

[Rizzo]

Dont Go In This Building !

[DecoJim]

Thanks for posting the interior shots, LMICH.
I have seen some interior shots put up by a certain UE by the initials DK but I have never seen the entire theater before. Unusual style to say the least.

One of my own pre-superbowl exterior pictures of the UA.
http://www.maj.com/gallery/DecoJim/DetroitBuildings/unitedartiststheaterbuilding.jpg
The marquee at the lower right was removed a year or two ago.

A shot I took of the Michigan theater parking garage:
http://www.maj.com/gallery/DecoJim/DetroitBuildings/michigantheater03.jpg

The railings on the stairs to the balcony have been "recycled" but the carpeting remains:
http://www.maj.com/gallery/DecoJim/DetroitBuildings/michigantheater04.jpg

While not a theater, Orchestra Hall is another historic (1919) entertainent venue:
http://www.maj.com/gallery/DecoJim/SymphonyHall/dso25.jpg

[LMich]

BTW, in case others didn't read the original post, the United Artists Theater was a single-screen cinema, not a stage theater, though it did have small stage shows now and again.

Thanks for posting, DecoJim. I meant for this to become a more general thread on old music, stage, and cinema venus of Detroit. In fact, if other's want to post about Music Hall, the Gem, or other venues, please feel free.

[MolsonExport]

Unbelievable shame. What a place to watch porn! (even the early 1970s type).