The Ryan Theatre opened on December 28, 1949, with a seating capacity of 1,400, all located on a single floor. It was opened to serve the entertainment needs in the area because the population nearby was growing to around 20,000. One of the special features was the side exit vestibule that opened to a 500 car parking lot with a covered canopy for the patrons to wait under. The block brick building had a moulted cream, tan and red porcelain enamel front. The double marquee was lined with bright neon stars on the center.
Nighttime view of the marquee, pre-grand-opening
The Owner & Operator was Motor City Theaters, Inc. who also owned the Motor City Theater (later the Motor City Skating Rink) at 9 mile & Van Dyke. The architect was Talmage C Hughes and the theater was built by Johnson Construction. The cost to build (including A/C) was $205,000.00 on the lot that measured 200' x 650'. The Projectors were made by International Projector Corp. Super Simplex with Rewinders made by Goldberg Brothers.
Interior view of the Ryan
Flowers were painted on the green background of the lobby walls, and the floor is of red, green, and tan rubber tile.painted on a green backround on the lobby walls. The auditorium had the same effect with the flowers and patterns on painted walls. Restrooms were done in a cream tile and terazzo floors.
The Ryan was also used for things other than the showing of films and movies. The June 1962 Lincoln High School of Warren held their commencement here. The Class of '62 was too big for the school auditorium.
The Auditorium
There were many, many movies shown there, of course. In the "classic film theater days", there were uniformed ushers who would make sure those patrons (usually the younger crowd) would wait until the previous film had ended. More than anything else, mainly to keep the ending from being ruined for them. :-)
There were Elvis movies, Monster Movies, Superhero Movies and even a line around the building when the Beatles movie "Help" played here in 1965. It was a massive 25-cents for kids to get in at that time. In 1967, admission was raised to 35-cents. The building also housed a barber shop in corner where an ice cream shop would later take-up residence.
Entryway including phone booth
There was nearby shopping for other things to do while waiting for the next Feature to start. There was a pop-machine where the cup would drop (sometimes upside-down) and fill with your favorite carbonated beverage. You could sit in show all day and watch 2 movies, some cartoons, and of course, previews. It closed in 1969, and the last movie to be shown was "Mckennas Gold", which stayed up on the marquee even while the theater was starting to undergo reconstruction.
1960's view of the Ryan
In 1970, the marquee would be changed to show "Closed for Repairs", which was the last thing advertised on it. This sign led to a local joke, "Wanna go see a movie?" "Yeah, let's go see 'Closed for Repairs', I hear it's great!" Unfortunately, the marquee and all the fixtures were soon removed from the building and the theatre would never re-open.
Original floor-plan for the Ryan
Reconstruction and renovations would be completed in 1971, but not as the Ryan Theater. Those renovations were the re-purpose to the strip mall that soon took its place and has remained since that time. You can still see the outline from the theater building towards the back of the strip mall section, just north of the Cache location (see picture below).
The building as it looked in 2002
This theater, much like many of the classic movie-houses, is nothing more than a memory now, albeit a good one.