Detroit Opera House

Last updated

Detroit Opera House
Detroit Opera House with trees.jpg
Detroit Opera House overlooks Grand Circus Park.
Detroit Opera House
Former namesGrand Circus Theater (1960s–1985)
Broadway Capitol Theater (1934–1960s)
Paramount Theater (1929–1934)
Capitol Theater (1922–1929)
Location1526 Broadway Street
Detroit, Michigan
Coordinates 42°20′11″N83°2′55″W / 42.33639°N 83.04861°W / 42.33639; -83.04861
TypeOpera
Capacity 2,700
Construction
OpenedJanuary 22, 1922
Renovated1996
Website
Detroit Opera official site
Detroit Opera House
Part of Grand Circus Park Historic District (ID83000894)
Designated CPFebruary 28, 1983

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.

Contents

The building underwent an extensive restoration which took place under the control of Detroit-based architectural design firm, Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. It reopened in 1996.

History

Old Detroit Opera House in 1906 Merrill Humane Fountain - 4a09029u.jpg
Old Detroit Opera House in 1906
The original Opera House structure (left) and stagehouse extension along Madison Avenue Detroit operaHouse side view.jpg
The original Opera House structure (left) and stagehouse extension along Madison Avenue
Old Detroit Opera House (behind fountain) on Campus Martius in 1907. CampusMartius1907.JPG
Old Detroit Opera House (behind fountain) on Campus Martius in 1907.

Over the years, opera has been presented at a variety of venues in Detroit - the Old Detroit Opera House (1869–1963) at Campus Martius, [1] the Whitney Grand Opera House (Garrick Theatre) at Griswold Street and Michigan Avenue, and the New Detroit Opera House (1886–1928) at Randolph and Monroe Streets. [2]

The Nederlander Organization, a major theatrical producer, began in Detroit with a 99-year lease on the Old Detroit Opera House in 1912. [3]

The present Detroit Opera House opened in 1922 and was known as the Capitol Theatre. It was among the first of several performance venues built around Detroit's Grand Circus Park. When it opened, the Capitol was reportedly the fifth largest movie theater in the world, seating about 3,500 people. In 1929, the Capitol Theater became the Paramount Theater, and in 1934, the Broadway Capitol Theater. [2]

During the first few decades of its history the theater presented feature films along with live entertainment including artists such as jazz legends Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. Later the Broadway Capitol converted to a movies-only policy. Following a minor restoration in the 1960s, the building became the 3,367-seat Grand Circus Theatre. [4] The theater closed in 1978 after surviving several years exhibiting second-run and soft-core porn films. It reopened again briefly in 1981, but closed after a minor fire in 1985 caused damage.

In 1988, the Michigan Opera Theatre purchased the building and dubbed it the Detroit Opera House, after an extensive restoration and stage expansion. The reopening in 1996 was celebrated with a gala event featuring Luciano Pavarotti and other noted artists. The Detroit Opera House is now configured with seating for an audience of 2,700. Since 1996, the opera house has annually hosted five opera productions, five dance productions from touring companies, and a variety of other musical and comedy events. [2]

The Opera House is featured prominently in the 2012 documentary Detropia .

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orchestra Hall (Detroit)</span> Music venue in Detroit

Orchestra Hall is an elaborate concert hall in the United States, located at 3711 Woodward Avenue in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. The hall is renowned for its superior acoustic properties and serves as the home of the internationally known Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO), the fourth oldest orchestra in the United States. With the creation of an adjoining auditorium for jazz and chamber music in 2003, Orchestra Hall became part of the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

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

The Fisher Building is a landmark skyscraper located at 3011 West Grand Boulevard in the heart of the New Center area of Detroit, Michigan. The ornate 30-story building, completed in 1928, is one of the major works of architect Albert Kahn, and is designed in an Art Deco style, faced with limestone, granite, and several types of marble. The Fisher family financed the building with proceeds from the sale of Fisher Body to General Motors. It was designed to house office and retail space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fox Theatre (Detroit)</span> Theater and former movie theater in Detroit, Michigan, US

The Fox Theatre is a performing arts center located at 2211 Woodward Avenue in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, near the Grand Circus Park Historic District. Opened in 1928 as a flagship movie palace in the Fox Theatres chain, it was at over 5,000 seats the largest theater in the city. Designed by theater architect C. Howard Crane, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

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

The Grand Circus Park Historic District contains the 5-acre (2.0 ha) Grand Circus Park in Downtown Detroit, Michigan that connects the theatre district with its financial district. It is bisected by Woodward Avenue, four blocks north of Campus Martius Park, and is roughly bounded by Clifford, John R. and Adams Streets. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The building at 25 West Elizabeth Street was added to the district in 2000, and additional structures located within the district, but built between 1932 and 1960, were approved for inclusion in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gem Theatre</span>

The Gem Theatre is a performing arts theater located in Detroit, Michigan. Built in 1927 in the Spanish Revival style, it houses a two level theater with traditional row and aisle seating along with stage-level seating at cabaret tables. The Gem Theatre was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. It shares a lobby with the cabaret-style Century Theatre, built in 1903.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Century Theatre (Detroit)</span> Theater in Detroit, Michigan

The Century Theatre in Detroit shares a lobby with the Gem Theatre. The theatre has seating at cabaret tables, and the stage hosts quirky shows, such as Forbidden Broadway, Menopause the Musical, and Late Nite Catechism. The theatre building houses a restaurant, The Century Grille, and is a popular downtown Detroit destination for weddings and private events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Whitney Building</span> Residential/hotel in Detroit, Michigan

The David Whitney Building is a historic class-A skyscraper located at 1 Park Avenue, on the northern edge of Downtown Detroit, Michigan, within the Grand Circus Park Historic District. The building stands on a wedge-shaped site at the junction of Park Avenue, Woodward Avenue, and Washington Boulevard. Construction on the 19-floor structure began in 1914.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. Howard Crane</span> American architect

Charles Howard Crane was an American architect who was primarily active in Detroit, Michigan. His designs include Detroit's Fox Theatre and Olympia Stadium, as well as LeVeque Tower in Columbus, Ohio, which remains that city's second tallest building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Broderick Tower</span> Skyscraper in Detroit

The Broderick Tower is a residential skyscraper in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. Original construction began in 1926, and was completed in 1928. The Broderick was fully renovated in 2012 by JC Beal Construction Inc., who also served as the developer. The tower was the second tallest building in Michigan when it was originally completed in 1928. It stands 34-stories, with two basement floors. The building is designed with Neo-classical architecture, Chicago school, and Beaux-Arts designs. Limestone is a prominent material in the building's surface. It was designed by architects Louis Kamper and Paul Kamper for Theodore Eaton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kales Building</span> Residential in Detroit, Michigan

The Kales Building is a high-rise apartment building in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It is located 76 West Adams at the northeast corner of Adams Avenue West and Park Avenue, across from Grand Circus Park, in the Foxtown neighborhood, just north of Downtown. The building was designed by Albert Kahn and constructed in 1914, and stands at 18 floors, with one basement floor, for a total of 19 floors in height. It was originally named the Kresge Building and it was given its current name in 1930. Kahn went beyond the typical Chicago School and styled the Kales Building with a clean-lined detail façade with Neo-classical and Renaissance revival elements such as the hipped roof and arched upper windows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Park Centre</span> Building in Detroit

Grand Park Centre, also known as the Michigan Mutual Building, is a high-rise office building in downtown Detroit, Michigan, located at 28 West Adams Avenue, at the corner of Adams Avenue West and Woodward Avenue, standing across from Grand Circus Park in the Foxtown neighbourhood. Nearby buildings and attractions are Grand Circus Park, Comerica Park, Ford Field, the Dime Building, and Campus Martius Park. The building is a part of the Michigan Mutual Liability Company Complex, with the Michigan Mutual Liability Annex. The building is located in the Foxtown neighborhood of Detroit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Detroit Masonic Temple</span> Masonic building in Detroit, Michigan

The Detroit Masonic Temple is the world's largest Masonic Temple. Located in the Cass Corridor of Detroit, Michigan, at 500 Temple Street, the building serves as a home to various masonic organizations including the York Rite Sovereign College of North America. The building contains a variety of public spaces including three theaters, three ballrooms and banquet halls, and a 160 by 100 feet clear-span drill hall.

<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">The Fillmore Detroit</span> Multi-use entertainment venue in Detroit

The Fillmore Detroit is a multi-use entertainment venue operated by Live Nation. Built in 1925, the Fillmore Detroit was known for most of its history as the State Theatre. It is located near the larger Fox Theatre in the Detroit Theatre District along Woodward Avenue across from Comerica Park and Grand Circus Park. The Fillmore Detroit features a theatre with a Grand Lobby and three levels of seating, as well as the State Bar & Grill which has a separate entrance and is open when the theatre is not hosting events. The Detroit Music Awards are held annually at The Fillmore Detroit in April. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fyfe Building</span> Residential in Detroit, Michigan

The Fyfe Building is located at 10 West Adams Street, at the corner of Adams Street and Woodward Avenue in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. It faces onto Central United Methodist Church, and Grand Circus Park.

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

Washington Boulevard Historic District is a multi-block area of downtown Detroit, Michigan. It consists of structures facing Washington Boulevard between State and Clifford Streets. In 1982, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It includes the Book-Cadillac Hotel, the Book Tower, the Industrial Building, and Detroit City Apartments among other architecturally significant buildings. Washington Boulevard is one of the city's main boulevards and part of Augustus Woodward's 1807-design for the city. Because Woodward's plan was never completed, the boulevard contains a sharp curve south of Michigan Avenue where it was connected to an existing street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wright–Kay Building</span> Building

The Wright–Kay Building, originally known as the Schwankovsky Temple of Music, is one of the oldest buildings in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It is located at 1500 Woodward Avenue, at the corner of Woodward and John R. Street, in proximity to the Lower Woodward Avenue Historic District. The building was listed on the State of Michigan's Historical Register in 1980 as #P25241.

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.

References

Note: The name Grand Circus Theatre may cause confusion, since another Grand Circus Theatre (1913–1924), originally known as the Central Theatre, once stood at 2115 Woodward Avenue. What is now The Fillmore Detroit Theatre (1925) arose on the same site at 2115 Woodward. [5]

Notes

  1. Bluestone, Daniel M. (September 1988). "Detroit's City Beautiful and the Problem of Commerce". Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians . XLVII (3): 245–62. doi:10.2307/990300. JSTOR   990300.
  2. 1 2 3 "Detroit Opera House". Broadway in Detroit. Archived from the original on March 28, 2014. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
  3. "About Nederlander". The Nederlander Organization. Archived from the original on August 13, 2009. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
  4. Krefft, Bryan. "Detroit Opera House" . Retrieved February 25, 2014.
  5. Hauser, Michael; Weldon, Marianne (2006). Downtown Detroit's Movie Palaces (Images of America). Arcadia Publishing. p. 125. ISBN   978-0-7385-4102-0. |

Other sources