Bonstelle Theatre

Last updated

Temple Beth-El
Midtown Woodward Historic District 2.jpg
Bonstelle Theatre
Interactive map
Location3424 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, Michigan
Coordinates 42°20′45.92″N83°3′24.86″W / 42.3460889°N 83.0569056°W / 42.3460889; -83.0569056
Built1902
Architect Albert Kahn; C. Howard Crane
Architectural style Beaux-Arts
Part of Midtown Woodward Historic District (ID08001106)
MPS Religious Structures of Woodward Ave. TR
NRHP reference No. 82002911 [1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPAugust 3, 1982
Designated CPNovember 26, 2008

The Bonstelle Theatre is a theater and former synagogue owned by Wayne State University, located at 3424 Woodward Avenue (the southeast corner of Woodward and Eliot) in the Midtown Woodward Historic District of Detroit, Michigan. [2] It was built in 1902 as the Temple Beth-El, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. [1] As of 2023, the Bonstelle is planned to be renovated and integrated into a newly-constructed hotel. [3] [4]

Contents

Construction

When Rabbi Leo M. Franklin first began leading services at Detroit's Temple Beth El in 1899, he felt that the construction of a new temple building on Detroit's "Piety Row" stretch of Woodward would increase the visibility and prestige of Detroit's Jewish community. [2] Accordingly, in October 1900, the congregation held a special meeting at which it was decided to build a new temple. The congregation purchased a site for the new temple in April of the next year and engaged member Albert Kahn to design the structure. Groundbreaking took place on November 25, 1901, with the ceremonial cornerstone laid on April 23, 1902. The first services were held in the chapel on January 24, 1903, and the formal dedication was held on September 18–19 of the same year. [5]

Building

The temple is a Beaux-Arts structure influenced primarily by Roman and Greek temples. Architect Albert Kahn's exterior design for Temple Beth-El has been compared closely to the Pantheon in Rome. [6] There is a prominent dome over the main area of the temple, with gabled wings on the north and south. A pedimented extension on the front once extended into a porch; the front section of the building was lost when the city widened Woodward Avenue in 1936. [2]

Later use

When the Temple Beth El congregation constructed a new building farther north along Woodward in 1922, they sold the building at Woodward and Eliot to Jessie Bonstelle for $500,000. [7] Bonstelle hired architect C. Howard Crane to convert the building into a theater, and named the resulting building the Bonstelle Playhouse. [7] Myron G. Barlow was reported to be responsible for directing interior decoration in "Italian style." [8] In 1928, the Bonstelle Playhouse became the Detroit Civic Theatre, and in the 1930s, the Mayfair Motion Picture Theater. In 1951, Wayne State University rented the facility as a performance space for its theater company, and purchased it outright in 1956, renaming it the Bonstelle Theatre in honor of Jessie Bonstelle.

In 2019, the University reached an agreement to lease the theatre to Detroit-based development firm The Roxbury Group. The Bonstelle is planned to be renovated and integrated into an adjacent hotel by AC Hotels, which is expected to open in 2024. [3] The Bonstelle was expected to host Mary Poppins as its final performance in April 2020, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [9] As a result, the final performance by Wayne State University in the Bonstelle was A Christmas Carol in December 2019. Wayne State University's theater performances are now produced and performed at the newly constructed Hilberry Gateway. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Kahn (architect)</span> American architect

Albert Kahn was an American industrial architect who designed industrial plant complexes such as the Ford River Rouge automobile complex. He designed the construction of Detroit skyscrapers and office buildings as well as mansions in the city suburbs. He led an organization of hundreds of architect associates and in 1937, designed 19% of all architect-designed industrial factories in the United States. Under a unique contract in 1929, Kahn established a design and training office in Moscow, sending twenty-five staff there to train Soviet architects and engineers, and to design hundreds of industrial buildings under their first five-year plan. They trained more than 4,000 architects and engineers using Kahn's concepts. In 1943, the Franklin Institute posthumously awarded Kahn the Frank P. Brown Medal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corrado Parducci</span> American sculptor

Corrado Giuseppe Parducci was an Italian-American architectural sculptor who was a celebrated artist for his numerous early-20th century works.

Charles Nathanial Agree was an American architect in Detroit, Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Detroit Opera House</span> Historic theater in Detroit, Michigan, US

The Detroit Opera House is an ornate opera house located at 1526 Broadway Street in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, within the Grand Circus Park Historic District. The 2,700-seat venue is the home of productions of the Detroit Opera and a variety of other events. The theatre was originally designed by C. Howard Crane, who created other prominent theatres in Detroit including The Fillmore Detroit, the Fox Theater and the Detroit Symphony's Orchestra Hall. It opened on January 22, 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brush Park</span> United States historic place

The Brush Park Historic District is a neighborhood located in Detroit, Michigan. It is bounded by Mack Avenue on the north, Woodward Avenue on the west, Beaubien Street on the east, and the Fisher Freeway on the south. The Woodward East Historic District, a smaller historic district completely encompassed by the larger Brush Park neighborhood, is located on Alfred, Edmund, and Watson Streets, from Brush Street to John R. Street, and is recognized by the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture of metropolitan Detroit</span> Architecture style of Metropolitan Detroit, Michigan, USA

The architecture of metropolitan Detroit continues to attract the attention of architects and preservationists alike. With one of the world's recognizable skylines, Detroit's waterfront panorama shows a variety of architectural styles. The post-modern neogothic spires of One Detroit Center refer to designs of the city's historic Art Deco skyscrapers. Together with the Renaissance Center, they form the city's distinctive skyline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leo M. Franklin</span>

Leo Morris Franklin was an influential Reform rabbi from Detroit, who headed Temple Beth El from 1899 to 1941.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Beth El (Detroit)</span> Reform synagogue in Michigan, United States

Temple Beth El is a Reform synagogue located at 7400 Telegraph Road, in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan, in the United States. Beth El was founded in 1850 in the city of Detroit, and is the oldest Jewish congregation in Michigan. Temple Beth El was a founding member of the Union for Reform Judaism in 1873, and hosted the meeting in 1889 during which the Central Conference of American Rabbis was established.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bethel Community Transformation Center</span> United States historic place

The former Temple Beth-El is a historic building located at 8801 Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It was built in 1921 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wayne State University Buildings</span> Historic district in Michigan, United States

The Wayne State University historic district consists of three buildings on 4735-4841 Cass Avenue in Midtown Detroit, Michigan: the Mackenzie House, Hilberry Theatre, and Old Main, all on the campus of Wayne State University. The buildings were designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1957 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Register of Historic Places listings in Detroit</span>

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Detroit, Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midtown Woodward Historic District</span> Historic district in Michigan, United States

The Midtown Woodward Historic District is a historic district located along Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. Structures in the district are located between 2951 and 3424 Woodward Avenue, and include structures on the corner of Charlotte Street and Peterboro Street. The district was admitted to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

The performing arts in Detroit include orchestra, live music, and theater, with more than a dozen performing arts venues. The stages and old time film palaces are generally located along Woodward Avenue, the city's central thoroughfare, in the Downtown, Midtown, and New Center areas. Some additional venues are located in neighborhood areas of the city. Many of the city's significant historic theaters have been revitalized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Register of Historic Places listings in Downtown and Midtown Detroit</span>

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Downtown and Midtown Detroit, Michigan. It is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Downtown and Midtown neighborhoods in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Latitude and longitude coordinates are provided for many National Register properties and districts; these locations may be seen together in online maps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hilberry Theatre</span> United States historic place

The Hilberry Theatre was a 534-seat auditorium located at 4743 Cass Avenue in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. Created in 1963, the Hilberry served as the theatre space for approximately 40-50 graduate students pursuing degrees in theatre fields at the Wayne State University main campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessie Bonstelle</span> American theater manager, director and actress

Jessie Bonstelle was an American theater director, actress, and drama company manager. Encouraged by her mother, she sang and performed in the theater from a young age; she went on to become a famous leading lady and made several performances on Broadway. Later she became a director, managing many stock companies, directing Broadway productions and training many young performers who went on to be famous actors. In 1925, she founded her own theater in Detroit. Reorganized in 1928 as the Detroit Civic Theatre, it was one of America's first civic theaters, and her methods influenced community theater projects elsewhere. She has been described as "one of the pioneering women stage directors in the early twentieth century".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George D. Mason</span> American architect

George DeWitt Mason was an American architect who practiced in Detroit, Michigan, in the latter part of the 19th and early decades of the 20th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hilberry Gateway</span> Performing arts center in Detroit, Michigan

The Hilberry Gateway is a performing arts center on the campus of Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. The complex is the home of theatre and jazz performances presented by the Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance, succeeding the Bonstelle Theatre and incorporating the renovated Hilberry Theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myron G. Barlow</span> American painter, 1873–1937

Myron G. Barlow was an American figurative painter known for his paintings of the lives of rural French women. A gold medalist in international art exhibitions, he had a home at the Etaples art colony. He was friend to Henry Ossawa Tanner. He also remained a resident of Detroit.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 Temple Beth-El Archived 2013-10-02 at the Wayback Machine from Detroit 1701.org.
  3. 1 2 Pinho, Kirk (March 20, 2019). "Roxbury's Bonstelle Theatre lease OK'd as part of 12-story West Elm boutique hotel project". Crain's Detroit Business. Archived from the original on March 21, 2019.
  4. Hernandez, Susana (July 9, 2018). "WSU to decommission historical Bonstelle Theatre". The South End.
  5. Katz, Irving I.; Jacob Rader Marcus (1955). The Beth El Story: With a History of Jews in Michigan Before 1850 . Detroit: Wayne State University Press. pp. 96–101. ISBN   9780783735849.
  6. Beaudoen 2005, p. 22.
  7. 1 2 "Bonstelle: Celebrating 100 Years of History" (Press release). Wayne State University. October 23, 2003. Archived from the original on September 1, 2006.
  8. "Barlow to Direct Work". Detroit Free Press. Detroit, Michigan. June 22, 1924. p. 3. The world-famous artist, Myron Barlow, will arrive in Detroit this fall from Europe, personally to direct the decoration of the theater's interior in the Italian style.
  9. "An important update from the Department of Theatre and Dance". Wayne State University. March 16, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  10. "Theatre and Dance at Wayne Announces the Last Full Season in the Hilberry Theatre Before Moving to Gateway Performing Arts Center" (Press release). Wayne State University. December 13, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2020.

Further reading