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Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 67.167.133.74 (talk) at 15:17, 17 March 2009 (→Later history: Let's not forget the theater's history as a Cinerama theater). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Wilson Theatre
Wilson Theatre (Music Hall) from across Madison
Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts is located in Michigan
Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts
LocationDetroit, Michigan
Built1928
ArchitectWilliam Kapp; Smith, Hinchman & Grylls
Architectural styleOther
NRHP reference No.77000725[1]
Added to NRHPAugust 09, 1977

The Music Hall Center for Performing Arts is a 1,700 seat theatre located in the city's theatre district at 350 Madison Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It was built in 1928 as the Wilson Theatre.

History

John Francis Dodge and his brother Horace were original investors in Ford Motor Company; the two went on to found the Dodge automobile company.[2] Both brothers died in 1920, leaving their respective widows very wealthy women.[2]

Matilda Dodge, John's widow, was interested stage productions and decided to use part of her fortune to build a venue in Detroit to serve as a home to a repertory group, and to host touring Broadway companies.[2] She hired William Kapp to design the building, and spent $1.5 million on the construction[3]. By the time of its opening in 1928, Matilda Dodge had married Alfred G. Wilson, and the building was christened the Wilson Theatre.

Building

Kapp designed the six-story Wilson Theater in an Art Deco style. THe facade along Madison is decorated with orange and tan bricks interspersed with mosaic tiles.[2] The facade is divided into multiple bays by stone pillars capped with terra cotta theatrical masks. Narrower pillars divide the bays and the windows within them. The roofline boasts a coral and green diamond motif.[2]

The original interior was designed in a Spanish Renaissance theme and sat 1,800.[2]

Later history

During the Great Depression, the cash-strapped Detroit Symphony Orchestra was unable to support their building, the Orchestra Hall. They played in a number of other locations, and in 1946 moved into Wilson Theatre, renaming it Detroit Music Hall.[2] The symphony moved out in 1951, and the building was used for other purposes, especially a movie theater showing Cinerama films. Rehabilitation efforts were begun in 1973, and in 1995 it reopened as the Music Hall Center for Performing Arts.[2] It is currently the only venue in Detroit built expressly for presenting live performances.[4]

The theater was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, and a state of Michigan historical marker is placed in front.[5]

References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2008-04-15.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Wilson Theater/Detroit Music Hall from Detroit1701.org
  3. ^ Wilson Theater Music Hall from the city of Detroit
  4. ^ Music Hall history
  5. ^ State marker text
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