The Redford Theatre in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
has served as an entertainment venue since it opened on January 27, 1928. It is owned and operated by the Motor City Theatre Organ Society (MCTOS), a
501(c)(3)
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...
organization. Architects Ralph F. Shreive along with Verner, Wilheim, and Molby designed the 1,581-seat Redford in Exotic Revival style with
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese
motifs.
[Michigan State Historic Preservation Offic]
Redford Theatre Building
. Retrieved on November 24, 2007. On January 31, 1985, the Redford Theatre was accepted into the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
[ In January 2006, the Redford was proclaimed to be one of the city's ten best interiors by the Detroit Chapter of the ]American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...
.[AIA Detroit Urban Priorities Committee, (January 10, 2006]
Top 10 Detroit Interiors
''Model D Media''. Retrieved on November 23, 2007.
At its opening, the theatre was hailed as "America's Most Unusual Suburban Playhouse". The Redford Theatre, with its three-story grand foyer, Japanese-inspired decor and full-size stage, has been in continuous operation ever since.
This was fortunate, since it enabled the Redford Theatre and its 3 manual, 10 rank
Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as:
Level or position in a hierarchical organization
* Academic rank
* Diplomatic rank
* Hierarchy
* ...
origina
Barton theatre organ
built by the Barton Organ Company
The Bartola Musical Instrument Company of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA, was a producer of theater pipe organs during the age of silent movies.
History
The company was founded in 1918 by Dan Barton, who was from Amherst, Wisconsin. The sixth larg ...
, to escape the ravages of neglect that resulted in the destruction of many movie palace
A movie palace (or picture palace in the United Kingdom) is any of the large, elaborately decorated movie theaters built between the 1910s and the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opening every year between 192 ...
s throughout the Detroit area.
In 1931, The Redford Theatre's facility became more famous when its four furnaces were converted to oil fuel by Mobil Oil. Redford Theatre and Mobile Oil used this on their promotional brochures which proclaimed, "Largest structure in area converts to oil fuel." Ramon C. Bolf, who was also known as Ray Redford contributed the heating machinery and oil from his locally owned Mobil Oil fueling stations
The Redford Theatre originally opened as part of the John Kunsky, Kunsky chain of movie theatres. Later, it became part of the Goldberg Community Theatre chain.
In 1977, the owners felt that the theatre was no longer viable as a commercial operation and offered to sell the building to the nonprofi
Motor City Theatre Organ Society
(MCTOS) (a chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society
The American Theatre Organ Society (ATOS) is an American non-profit organization, dedicated to preserving and promoting the theatre pipe organ and its musical art form.
ATOS consists of regional member-chapters, and is led by democratically e ...
), which had been leasing time at the theatre to present concerts and silent movies with organ accompaniment. MCTOS purchased the theatre and continues to own and operate the theatre while restoring the interior designs that had been obliterated during World War II.
Out of over a hundred theatres in the Detroit area that contained pipe organs when they were built, the Redford Theatre is the only neighborhood theatre with its original theatre organ
A theatre organ (also known as a theater organ, or, especially in the United Kingdom, a cinema organ) is a type of pipe organ developed to accompany silent films, from the 1900s to the 1920s.
Theatre organs have horseshoe-shaped arrangements ...
.
Programming
Because of its location on the outskirts of Detroit, the spacious Redford often has not been a first-run movie theatre. However, like many current second-run theatres, it has shown films that were market-tested at other movie houses. For example, on May 16, 1956, the Redford presented two prominent 1955 films - ''The Rose Tattoo
''The Rose Tattoo'' is a three-act play written by Tennessee Williams in 1949 and 1950; after its Chicago premiere on December 29, 1950, he made further revisions to the play for its Broadway premiere on February 2, 1951, and its publication by ...
'' and ''The Trouble with Harry
''The Trouble with Harry'' is a 1955 American Technicolor black comedy film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes was based on the 1950 novel by Jack Trevor Story. It starred Edmund Gwenn, John Forsythe, Mildred N ...
''.
When most of the movie theaters in the Detroit area were in the city of Detroit, the Redford Theatre screened many films that were first shown at one of the large theaters in the Grand Circus Park
The Grand Circus Park Historic District contains the Grand Circus Park in Downtown Detroit, Michigan that connects the theatre district with its financial district. It is bisected by Woodward Avenue, four blocks north of Campus Martius Park, ...
area of downtown Detroit. '' Cimarron'' opened at the Redford on April 19, 1931, after its Detroit premiere at the Fox Theatre on February 5, 1931. In 1956, ''The Searchers
''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American Technicolor VistaVision epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas-Native American wars, and stars John W ...
'' opened at the Palms on May 18 and arrived at the Redford on August 15.
In the early 1930s, the Redford often showed three movies in one week (usually starting on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays). During one week in 1931, patrons enjoyed Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was si ...
and Clark Gable
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...
in ''Laughing Sinners
''Laughing Sinners'' is a 1931 American pre-Code Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer feature film starring Joan Crawford and Clark Gable in a story about a cafe entertainer who experiences spiritual redemption. The dialogue by Martin Flavin was based upon the p ...
'' (July 12–14), Lew Ayres
Lewis Frederick Ayres III (December 28, 1908 – December 30, 1996) was an American actor whose film and television career spanned 65 years. He is best known for starring as German soldier Paul Bäumer in the film '' All Quiet on the Western Fr ...
in ''Iron Man
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
'' (July 15–16) and Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...
in '' Six Cylinder Love'' (July 17–18). Accompanying Redford films of the 1930s were comedy shorts (Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...
, Charley Chase
Charles Joseph Parrott (October 20, 1893 – June 20, 1940), known professionally as Charley Chase, was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director. He worked for many pioneering comedy studios but is chiefly associated with pro ...
and Our Gang), cartoons ( Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Warner Bros. Cartoons, Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring role ...
and Mighty Mouse
Mighty Mouse is an American animated anthropomorphic superhero mouse character created by the Terrytoons studio for 20th Century Fox. The character was originally called Super Mouse, and made his debut in the 1942 short ''The Mouse of Tomorro ...
), golf instructional films with Bobby Jones and vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
acts.
In the 1950s, the Redford often showed double features, along with "Kiddie Matinees" on Saturday afternoons that included cartoons and special movies. Occasionally, the Redford hosted Detroit area premieres, such as the December 25, 1956 opening of '' Friendly Persuasion'', which was crowded out of the larger theaters by blockbusters like ''The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments ( Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
''.
When movies started opening outside of downtown Detroit in the 1960s, the Redford was a first run theater for many prominent movies, including ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians
''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (also simply known as ''101 Dalmatians'') is a 1961 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and based on the 1956 novel ''The Hundred and One Dalmatians'' by Dodie Smith. The ...
'' (1961), ''Hud
Hud or HUD may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Hud'' (1963 film), a 1963 film starring Paul Newman
* ''Hud'' (1986 film), a 1986 Norwegian film
* ''HUD'' (TV program), or ''Heads Up Daily'', a Canadian e-sports television program
Places
* Hud, Fa ...
'' (1963), ''Von Ryan's Express
''Von Ryan's Express'' is a 1965 World War II adventure film starring Frank Sinatra, Trevor Howard, and Raffaella Carrà, and directed by Mark Robson. Produced in CinemaScope, the film depicts a group of Allied prisoners of war ( POWs) who cond ...
'' (1965), '' You Only Live Twice'' (1967), '' Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), and ''The Graduate
''The Graduate'' is a 1967 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from W ...
'' (1967).
In the 1970s, when socioeconomic forces closed many Detroit theaters and opened many others in the Detroit suburbs, the Redford went into decline and later was reborn with a still-running series of classic Hollywood movies. The Redford is one of the few remaining theaters mentioned in a September 11, 1981 ''Detroit News
''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...
'' article about film repertory houses in the Detroit area.
Current film programming at the Redford Theatre consists of a bi-weekly movie series that ranges from silent films through the musicals of the 40s, 50s and 60s to some films from the 2000s. Spring and Fall festivals featuring films of the Three Stooges
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeare ...
have grown in popularity. In addition to the classic film series and organ concerts produced by MCTOS, the theatre is available for rental by community groups wishing to produce their own shows.
Notes
References
* ''Detroit Free Press''; 1931, 1956, 1960-1969
* ''The Detroit News''; 1931, 1956, 1981
*
External links
Redford Theatre
Cinema Treasures
Michigan History-Michigan Nostalgia
Cinema Tour
{{National Register of Historic Places in Michigan
Cinemas and movie theaters in Michigan
Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan
Music venues in Michigan
Event venues established in 1928
Theatres in Detroit
1928 establishments in Michigan
National Register of Historic Places in Detroit
Public venues with a theatre organ