Lakewood Lore

Movie theaters suffered ignoble fate in our city

Lakewood boasted numerous movie houses during pre-TV days. Lines would stretch out around corners for feature films, comedy shorts, newsreels, plus cliff-hanger serials on Saturdays.

Most of the places sprang up during the silent era. Among them were the Pastime Theater, once at Madison and Hopkins, which started showing pictures in 1916. It eventually was destroyed by fire.

The Uno Theater came along in 1917 at Madison and Ridgewood. Its name was changed to the Royal and it continued as such for many years.

It was affectionately referred to by many of its patrons as "The Garlic House," a nickname prompted by the aromatic ethnic cookery of the neighborhood. The building is now a branch of Home Federal Savings Bank.

Opened in 1923 were the Lincoln and Lakewood theaters. The Lincoln, on Madison at Arthur, had 1,000 seats and cost $100,000 to build.

To announce its opening, manager Glenn Crockett organìzed a parade of automobiles. The lead car carried a machine gun, which periodically was fired skyward. There were some serious objections to the firing when it persisted while the caravan was stopped briefly in front of Lakewood Hospital.

The Lakewood Theater, with 600 seats, was located between Victoria and Elmwood on the south side of Detroit. Its dome-like front, which depicted the firmament, was filled with lights representing stars.

Two other shows of similar vintage, both on the north side of' Detroit, were the Homestead, just west of Hird, and the Melba, between Hird and West 117th.

Meanwhile, the Detroit Theater opened in 1924 at the southeast corner of Detroit and Woodward; today it is the city's only remaining cinema showing regular movies.

The Hilliard Theatre, 16200 Hilliard, was built in 1927 and had a somewhat checkered career. At the outset, its management advertised a 98-key pipe organ that "would do just about anything but talk." Dick O'Hearn, one-time popular radio personality, used to play it for sing-alongs.

But after 35 halcyon years, the Hilliard Square changed its name to Westwood and switched to foreign and art films. Later, it ran skin flicks and horror films until 1986.

In 1987, it was renovated, family films were re-introduced and the new owners took back the Hilliard part of the original name. Alas in the summer of 1988, the screen was darkened finally, and now the building is for rent.

The fate of one early Lakewood movie house—the Lucier Theatre at 17283 Detroit—took an unusual twist. About 1937, it was completely remodeled for stage performances. Its first play opened in May 1938, under a new marquee that read Lakewood Little Theater.

This article appeared in the Lakewood Sun Post April 27, 1989. Reprinted with permission.

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