Ideal Theatre
Clare, MI Photo courtesy Alan Culley
The Ideal Theatre gives downtown Clare a welcome splash of neon. Its projecting marquee has been catching eyes along McEwan Street since 1937, making this one movie house you don't need a map to find. Fortunately, there's still something playing behind those doors. 12-08
John and Myra Asline opened the Ideal on August 6, 1930, after operating the nearby Princess Theatre. Decades later, a pandemic closure threatened its future until sisters Lisa Benic, Sandy Wright, and Sue Leverence took on the restoration. They preserved details including the neon clock and cast-iron seat supports, even uncovering forgotten marquee lights above the foyer ceiling.
UPDATE: The Ideal reopened in March 2023 with updated equipment, improved accessibility, and its refurbished marquee. Movies have returned to downtown Clare, and some lights that had been hidden for years are back on the job, too. 07-26
Rialto Theatre
Grayling, MI Photo courtesy Alan Culley
The Rialto Theatre has been part of downtown Grayling's moviegoing tradition since 1915. Standing along Michigan Avenue, it offers something increasingly unusual: a hometown theater still operated by descendants of the family that started it. That's quite a run for a business built around coming attractions. 12-08
The story began when George Olson acquired the old Grayling Opera House and brought movies to the building. Fire destroyed the theater over Easter weekend in 1930, but it was rebuilt with the Art Deco appearance seen today. More recently, great-grandson Jordan Stancil helped carry it into the digital-projection era, with community fundraising supporting the theater around its 2015 centennial.
UPDATE: The Rialto continues showing first-run films with modern projection, sound, and rocking-chair seating. More than a century after the family's first screenings, audiences can still catch a movie in downtown Grayling beneath the familiar Rialto name. 07-26
Marquis Theatre
Northville, MI Photo courtesy Mark Comstock
This is the Marquis Theatre in Northville, MI. It is located at 135 East Main Street. This Theatre opened in 1925 as the Penniman-Allen Theatre. It originally served as an opera house and then a vaudeville house before showing movies. The name was changed to the Marquis Theatre in 1972 and the theatre was renovated in 1978 to a performing arts center. Many thanks to Mark Comstock for info. 12-08
In the early 1970s the theater became the Marquis Theatre, beginning a new chapter that eventually shifted its focus from movies to live performances. Children's theater, community productions, concerts, and special events have helped keep the old building full of life while preserving much of its historic character. Rather than becoming another vacant downtown relic, the Marquis has continued doing what it was built to do—bring people together for an evening of entertainment.
Marquis Theatre
Northville, MI Photo courtesy Mark Comstock
Like many theaters of its era, the Marquis has survived changing tastes, economic ups and downs, and even a damaging fire in 2003. Thanks to restoration efforts over the years, it remains one of the most recognizable buildings in downtown Northville. Standing beneath the marquee today, it's easy to picture the countless moviegoers, performers, and families who have walked through these doors over the last hundred years.
UPDATE: The Marquis Theatre is temporarily closed while undergoing interior renovations and repairs as it prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary. The work is expected to ensure this downtown landmark continues entertaining audiences for years to come. 07-26
Family Theatre
East Tawas, MI Photo courtesy Alan Culley
At first glance, the Family Theatre sign looks like any other vintage movie theater marquee. The Family Theatre sign in East Tawas appears to have been a theatre by a different name at one time as the neon tube holes don't really match the letters and the 'Family' lettering looks newer. Many thanks to Alan Culley for info. 12-08
The theater opened in 1910 as the Panoramic Theatre before becoming the Family Theatre in the 1930s. Instead of replacing the entire sign, the new name appears to have been fitted onto the existing framework, leaving behind clues to its earlier history.
More than a century after opening, the theater is still showing first-run movies in downtown East Tawas. It's another great example of an old neighborhood theater that continues to do what it was built to do.
UPDATE: The Family Theatre remains open as a locally owned movie theater, and its vintage sign still carries subtle evidence of its earlier identity. 07-26
Plaza Theatre
Glasgow, KY Photo courtesy Alan Culley
The bright marquee of the Plaza Theatre has been turning heads in downtown Glasgow for generations. It's the kind of theater that makes you wonder what Main Street must have looked like on a Saturday night when the sidewalks were full and the latest movie was about to begin. Even today, it remains one of the city's most recognizable landmarks. 12-08
The Plaza was an ambitious project from the very beginning. Construction started in 1930, but with the Great Depression underway, progress slowed to a crawl. It took four years before the theater finally opened its doors in August 1934, welcoming a sold-out crowd that had waited a long time to see Glasgow's newest movie palace.
Plaza Theatre
Glasgow, KY Photo courtesy Alan Culley
Like so many neighborhood theaters, the Plaza eventually fell on hard times and closed during the 1990s. For a while, its future looked uncertain, but the City of Glasgow stepped in and purchased the building in 2001 before it could be lost. After an extensive restoration, the theater returned to life with its grand interior and beautiful marquee once again welcoming visitors downtown.
Today, the Plaza is no longer just a movie theater. Concerts, plays, classic films, and community events have given the old building a new purpose while preserving the character that has made it a downtown landmark for more than 90 years.
There's something satisfying about seeing an old theater like this still standing. It reminds you that some of the best roadside discoveries aren't abandoned at all as they're still making memories under the same glowing marquee that first lit up Main Street generations ago.
UPDATE: The Plaza Theatre continues to thrive as Glasgow's historic performing arts venue, with its beautifully restored marquee remaining one of downtown's signature sights. 07-26
Ideal Theatre
Rialto Theatre
Marquis Theatre
Marquis Theatre
Family Theatre
Plaza Theatre
Plaza Theatre
