Michigan Theater (Ann Arbor)
Encyclopedia
The Michigan Theater is a movie palace
in Ann Arbor, Michigan
in the United States of America. It shows independent films, stage productions and musical concerts.
Designed by Detroit-based architect
Maurice Finkel
and built in 1928, the theater seats 1700 and features the theater's original 1927 Barton Theatre Pipe Organ
, orchestra pit, stage, and elaborate architectural details.
During a renovation in 1956, many of the original ornate designs were destroyed. After a period of low attendance, the theater was threatened with demolition in 1978, but members of the community and local organist
s helped raise funds to save and renovate the theater, returning it to its original design. A second screen with a state-of-the-art sound system, seating for 200 and the ability to project films digitally was added in 1999.
The Barton
Opus 245 theatre pipe organ
was built for the Michigan Theater and installed in November 1927 shortly before the theater was opened. It is one of the few remaining organs which exists in its original location. It has three manuals
(keyboards), thirteen separate ranks of pipes and the console is situated on a functioning Barton four-poster lift. The instrument has been fully restored and has retained all of its original electropneumatic operating systems. No portion of it has been digitized and no such modification is planned. The instrument is professionally maintained and played daily prior to most film screenings, making it one of the most heard theater organs in the country.
The Michigan Theater
is the current home of the annual Ann Arbor Film Festival
, the Ann Arbor Symphony,and the Ann Arbor Concert Band, and has been named 2006 Outstanding Historic Theatre by the League of Historic American Theaters. The theater also hosts a series of children's stage productions entitled "Not Just For Kids" and a concert series entitled "The Legends of Rock & Roll."
Movie palace
A movie palace is a term used to refer to the large, elaborately decorated movie theaters built between the 1910s and the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opened every year between 1925 and 1930.There are three building types in particular which can be subsumed...
in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
in the United States of America. It shows independent films, stage productions and musical concerts.
Designed by Detroit-based architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Maurice Finkel
Maurice Herman Finkel
Maurice Herman Finkel was an American architect and Yiddish theater actor. Born in Bessarabia, Russian Empire, Finkel immigrated to the United States as a child and became involved with Yiddish theater in New York City...
and built in 1928, the theater seats 1700 and features the theater's original 1927 Barton Theatre Pipe Organ
Theatre organ
A theatre organ is a pipe organ originally designed specifically for imitation of an orchestra. New designs have tended to be around some of the sounds and blends unique to the instrument itself....
, orchestra pit, stage, and elaborate architectural details.
Organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
s helped raise funds to save and renovate the theater, returning it to its original design. A second screen with a state-of-the-art sound system, seating for 200 and the ability to project films digitally was added in 1999.
The Barton
Barton Organ Company
The Barton Organ Company was an American pipe organ manufacturer during the age of silent movies. The company was founded by Dan Barton, who was from Amherst, Wisconsin. The fifth largest builder of theater instruments in the nation, Barton focused almost exclusively on the Midwest market...
Opus 245 theatre pipe organ
Theatre organ
A theatre organ is a pipe organ originally designed specifically for imitation of an orchestra. New designs have tended to be around some of the sounds and blends unique to the instrument itself....
was built for the Michigan Theater and installed in November 1927 shortly before the theater was opened. It is one of the few remaining organs which exists in its original location. It has three manuals
Manual (music)
A manual is a keyboard designed to be played with the hands on a pipe organ, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic organ, or synthesizer. The term "manual" is used with regard to any hand keyboard on these instruments to distinguish it from the pedalboard, which is a keyboard that the organist plays...
(keyboards), thirteen separate ranks of pipes and the console is situated on a functioning Barton four-poster lift. The instrument has been fully restored and has retained all of its original electropneumatic operating systems. No portion of it has been digitized and no such modification is planned. The instrument is professionally maintained and played daily prior to most film screenings, making it one of the most heard theater organs in the country.
The Michigan Theater
Michigan Theater
Michigan Theater or Michigan Theatre may refer to:* Michigan Theater * Michigan Theater * Michigan Theatre * Michigan Theatre, Flint, Michigan, demolished* Michigan Theatre, Lansing, Michigan...
is the current home of the annual Ann Arbor Film Festival
Ann Arbor Film Festival
The Ann Arbor Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Ann Arbor in the U.S. state of Michigan. Established in 1963, it is the third-oldest film festival in North America ; and the oldest experimental film festival...
, the Ann Arbor Symphony,and the Ann Arbor Concert Band, and has been named 2006 Outstanding Historic Theatre by the League of Historic American Theaters. The theater also hosts a series of children's stage productions entitled "Not Just For Kids" and a concert series entitled "The Legends of Rock & Roll."