Michigan Theater (Ann Arbor, Michigan)


Michigan Theater Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Michigan theatre
Show map of Michigan Show map of the US
Location	603 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor, Michigan
Coordinates	42°16′46″N 83°44′31″W / 42.27944°N 83.74194°W / 42.27944; -83.74194Coordinates: 42°16′46″N 83°44′31″W / 42.27944°N 83.74194°W / 42.27944; -83.74194
Area	less than one acre
Built	1927
Architect	Finkel,Maurice
Architectural style	Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Lombard Romanesque
NRHP Reference #	80001917^[1]
Added to NRHP	November 28, 1980

The Michigan Theater is a movie palace in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. It shows independent films, stage productions and musical concerts.

Designed by Detroit-based architect Maurice Finkel and built in 1928, the theater seats 1700 and features the theater's original 1927 Barton Theatre Pipe Organ, orchestra pit, stage, and elaborate architectural details. It has been co-owned, off and on, with the State Theater for years, as both were originally under the ownership of the Butterfield Theaters chain.

Console of the 3/13 Barton theatre organ at Ann Arbor's Michigan Theater.

During a renovation in 1956, many of the original ornate designs were destroyed. After a period of low attendance, the theater was threatened with demolition in 1978, but members of the community and local organists helped raise funds to save and renovate the theater, returning it to its original design. A second screen with a state-of-the-art sound system, seating for 200 and the ability to project films digitally was added in 1999.

The Barton Opus 245 theatre pipe organ was built for the Michigan Theater and installed in November 1927 shortly before the theater was opened. It is one of the few remaining organs which exists in its original location. It has three manuals (keyboards), thirteen separate ranks of pipes and the console is situated on a functioning Barton four-poster lift. The instrument has been fully restored and has retained all of its original electropneumatic operating systems. No portion of it has been digitized and no such modification is planned. The instrument is professionally maintained and played daily prior to most film screenings, making it one of the most heard theater organs in the country.^[2]

The Michigan Theater is the current home of the annual Ann Arbor Film Festival, the Ann Arbor Symphony, the Ann Arbor Concert Band, and Dandia Dhamaka, and has been named 2006 Outstanding Historic Theatre by the League of Historic American Theaters. The theater also hosts a series of children's stage productions entitled "Not Just For Kids" and a concert series entitled "The Legends of Rock & Roll."

Theater lobby

East Liberty St at night

Notes

↑ National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
↑ Aldridge, Henry B. (September/October 1998).The Michigan Theatre Celebrates Twenty-Five Years of Organ Overtures. Journal of the American Theatre Organ Society. Cited at StevenBall.com. Retrieved on January 14, 2008.

External links

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Ann Arbor, Michigan

Education

Primary and secondary schools	Ann Arbor Public Schools Huron High School Pioneer High School Skyline High School Community High School Clonlara School Greenhills School Rudolf Steiner School of Ann Arbor

Colleges and universities	University of Michigan Concordia University Washtenaw Community College (in Ann Arbor Township)

Other

Landmarks	The Ark Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum Blind Pig Briarwood Mall Burton Memorial Tower Michigan Theater Performance Network Theatre State Theatre St. Patrick's Parish Complex Sunward Cohousing Tower Plaza University of Michigan Health System C.S. Mott Children's Hospital

Culture	Ann Arbor Art Fairs Ann Arbor Film Festival Hash Bash Shakespeare in the Arb

Transportation	Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority Ann Arbor Amtrak station Ann Arbor Municipal Airport (in Pittsfield Township, owned by the City of Ann Arbor)

This list is incomplete.

National Register of Historic Places in Michigan

Lists by county	Alcona Alger Allegan Alpena Antrim Arenac Baraga Barry Bay Benzie Berrien Branch Calhoun Cass Charlevoix Cheboygan Chippewa Clare Clinton Crawford Delta Dickinson Eaton Emmet Genesee Gladwin Gogebic Grand Traverse Gratiot Hillsdale Houghton Huron Ingham Ionia Iosco Iron Isabella Jackson Kalamazoo Kalkaska Kent Keweenaw Lake Lapeer Leelanau Lenawee Livingston Luce Mackinac Macomb Manistee Marquette Mason Mecosta Menominee Midland Missaukee Monroe Montcalm Montmorency Muskegon Newaygo Oakland Oceana Ogemaw Ontonagon Osceola Oscoda Otsego Ottawa Presque Isle Roscommon Saginaw Sanilac Schoolcraft Shiawassee St. Clair St. Joseph Tuscola Van Buren Washtenaw Wayne (Detroit) Wexford

Other lists	Bridges Historic districts Houses Michigan State Historic Sites (listings) National Historic Landmarks Properties of religious function Railway stations

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