Detroit's Cinema Theatre (today's Gem Theatre)

On Saturday, August 15, 2009, Preservation Wayne’s annual Movie Palaces Tour will showcase the jaw dropping architecture of Detroit’s downtown theaters. Preservation Wayne’s biggest walking tour of the year highlights the city’s entertainment district. Tickets are $40, and include a boxed lunch at the Detroit Opera House.

Visit “behind the scenes” for an exclusive look inside the 7 theaters still accessible in one of the country’s most important collection of early 20th Century theaters. Now in its 21st year, the tour helps promote the entertainment district and since its beginnings has seen six theaters restored; from the largest one, the Fox, where house organist John Lauter will treat tour goers to the amazing sounds of the mighty Wurlitzer, to the smallest one, the Century Theatre, which was moved in 1997 five blocks along with the adjoining Gem Theatre to its current location to make way for Comerica Park. While the Madison, the Adams and the United Artists are no longer accessible to the public, the remnants of the magnificent Michigan Theatre are still visible above the 3-story parking deck that now occupies the once opulent auditorium, where scenes from Eminem’s 8-Mile and the sci-fi thriller The Island were filmed. Also included again this year, is access to a portion of the lobby from the magnificent 1927 Oriental Theatre, which was demolished in the early 1950s.

Preservation Wayne’s tour guides are all theater history buffs who enjoy sharing their knowledge of the buildings, business and anecdotes of Detroit’s movie theaters. Tour groups are limited in size and depart every half hour from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Registration and tours begin in the lobby of the Fillmore (formerly State Theatre) on Woodward Avenue, one block south of the Fox. Please be prompt and allow for weekend freeway construction! Parking is readily available at the Fox Garage, located just north of the Fox Theater, on Montcalm, directly west of Hockeytown Café. As this tour regularly sells out, reservations for one of six (6) timeslots are highly recommended, and can be secured with a check or credit card in advance. Call the Preservation Wayne office at 313.577.7674 or check out the website at www.preservationwayne.org to purchase tickets and for more information.

Preservation Wayne was founded in 1975 and is Detroit’s only full-time staffed preservation organization. Preservation Wayne sponsors workshops on adaptive use of retail, residential and commercial buildings and provides technical assistance and restoration resources to its hundreds of member households. Its staff and volunteers conduct tours regular walking tours of Detroit’s neighborhoods. Through its newsletter and website, Preservation Wayne keeps its members up-dated on developments in local preservation issues. Preservation Wayne’s internship program provides experience in non-profit administration and historic preservation for college credit. Its volunteer program gives hands-on historic preservation opportunities and behind-the-scenes access to Detroit’s architectural heritage.