Downtown Theatre
120 W. Adams Avenue,
Detroit,
MI
48226
120 W. Adams Avenue,
Detroit,
MI
48226
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The name of the RKO Downtown changed to the Downtown in 1936. The RKO Downtown temporarily closed after the Wednesday, May 20, 1936 screening of the musical “Dancing Pirate”. The theater reopened as the Downtown on Friday, October 16, 1936 with the drama “The President’s Mystery” and the comedy “Sitting on the Moon”. (From the Detroit Free Press archives of Newspapers.com)
As the RKO Downtown, it hosted the Detroit premieres of many famous RKO films of the early 1930s, including Cimarron (1931), King Kong (1933), and Top Hat (1935). It also hosted first runs of the classic Universal horror films Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), and The Invisible Man (1933). (From the Detroit Free Press archives of Newspapers.com)
The former lobby is now home of an Asian restaurant called Pao. The rest of the building is apartments.
September 25th, 1927 grand opening ad as Oriental also in the photo section.
August 23rd, 1930 grand opening ad as Downtown in photo section.
Percival Pereira was not a member of the firm of Pereira & Pereira. That firm consisted of brothers William and Hal Pereira. There is a lot of conflation of Percival and Hal on the Internet, and I suspect that much of it has been spread from Cinema Treasures. I really ought to have noticed this sooner.
Some 2010 pictures of surviving bits of the lobby about halfway down this page.
From Boxoffice magazine, January 1938:
DETROIT-Detroit’s off-again-on-again house, the Downtown, reported closed last week, reopened here Saturday. The house was closed by Lipton Astrachan, who went back to Chicago, but reopened by Sam Carver, who was manager of the house for the Krim circuit when it was open a few weeks ago.
On a current map the RKO Downtown would be seen as a parking lot. The Adams Theater is near the corner on Adams Avenue, and the United Artists in on Bagley somewhat near the corner next to a gravel lot that used to contain the Tuller Hotel.
From the map function a theatre is clearly visible sitting on Park & Adams. Is this the former RKO Downtown, or another house?
Thanks SNWEB. Makes me even more sorry that I missed the tour. I hope the Oriental lobby will be on the 2008 tour.
Hey Don if you want to see photos of the theater I took look no further, visit this link. I’m adding more shots daily.
The lobby was included on this year’s Preservation Wayne theatre tour, which I’m really sorry I missed. I’m hoping they’ll keep it on in the 2008 tour, because most of the theatres in the tour are those that are in great shape (Detroit Fox, Music Hall, Detroit Opera House and the Gem) and those in renovation (Palms-State). Great to see, but it also helps to be able to see those in disrepair or of which only remnants survive(too bad we can’t get into the Adams or the United Artists).
John Lauter’s post stated that John Muri recorded an album on the Six Mile RKO’s Wurlitzer. Is that recording available anywhere? And what about the Muri recording on the Detroit Fox?
The Six mile (aka RKO uptown, six-mile uptown) was nothing like the Oriental/RKO downtown. The Oriental was an atmospheric and the Six mile was a hardtop, somewhat plain “classical” styling. The Six-mile was HUGE, and had fantastic acoustics. John Muri recorded a landmark album on the Six mile Wurlitzer.
It appears that the Six Mile Theater was nearly the same in style. Shame both are demolished
P.R.Pereira was my grandfather .. I was told long ago he had designed the interior of the Fox theater in Detroit. Can anyone disput or confirm this ..
yes but in my comment above I mistakenly said it was the only one in the city
Correction, the Riveria is also a atmospheric theater. I found out today that the theatre is the parking lot next to Park Ave. Apartments, and the acutal lobby is intact and is the Park Ave. Apartments mechanical room.
Interesting pics: View link
Your kidding me! Detroit’s only atmospheric theater torn down for a PARKING LOT? What the heck!