GC3M0FZ (MCH) The Quo Vadis Theatre (Traditional Cache) in Michigan, United States created by RayQix

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thanks for all the finds over the last 6 years on this one.

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A cache by RayQix Message this owner

Hidden : 2/4/2013

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Geocache Description:

The Michigan Cinema History (MCH) caches are dedicated to the local creation, viewing,
or enjoyment of movie and cinema-related items in the local area.

This can include, and is not limited to, people, places, and things of Cinema or both past-and-present.

(This series is a companion to the Detroit Cinema History (DCH) and Ontario Cinema History (OCH) series.)

Michigan Cinema History:
The Quo Vadis Theatre
Westland, Michigan

OPEN: 1966 | CLOSED: 2002 | SEATS: 1798

Artists rendering of the Marquee 1960's

The Quo Vadis Entertainment Center was built in 1966 and was a step in the bigger plan of brothers Martin and Charlie Shafer who had built and run the neighboring Algiers Drive-In theatre in 1956 and had kept it very popular and profitable. The brothers wanted to build a movie palace for folks of all ages to enjoy and to have it be "more" than "just another theatre" and be a little more "upscale" than most theatres of the time. Their business was known as the Wayne Amusement Company and they owned several theatres over the years including the Algiers Drive-In and others.

1985 Night view of the Quo Vadis and Marquee

The Algiers Drive-In had been opened in 1956 on the northeast corner of Wayne Road and Warren in Westland. Business was good and the brothers wanted to expand the entertainment offerings in the area here. Their original ideas led to buying 25 acres of "swampland" near Wayne and Warren Roads, filling it with topsoil and gravel, then "planting" a Drive-In movie theatre there that would hold 1200 cars. This would be an excellent and profitable idea, but unfortunately the movies could only be shown in the evening/after dark and when weather was warm enough for folks to enjoy it. This gave the brothers an idea to devolop and build an indoor complex that would be known for being "different" and unusual and also catering to folks "higher tastes" in entertainment. Thus, the Quo Vadis was born.

The Quo Vadis building complex was developed mostly on the land that the exit driveway for the drive-in occupied and the driveway for the Drive In was rerouted south. A few spaces were lost on the western ends of the ramps for the theater also, but the drive in added 7 ramps in the back of the field to make up for the loss.

A Postcard for the Quo Vadis from approximately 1970

The Quo Vadis opened on June 22, 1966 with the original 1,200-seat single-screen auditorium showing the comedy "The Glass Bottom Boat" starring Doris Day, Rod Taylor, and Arthur Godfrey.

1966 MGM picture: The Glass Bottom Boat

This stunning and unusual 1960’s-era movie palace was designed by the famed firm of Yamasaki and Associates who would later be known for building New York City's World Trade Center towers as well as the 1 Woodward "ANR Gas Building" in downtown Detroit.

Its curvilinear features were carried on its equally stunning interior.

Outside, with its steel-and-glass boxy shape, gave a very Modernistic appearance and was typical Modernist architecture, but inside, as its name might imply, it carried a Roman Empire theme. Imported blue Italian tiles highlighted by glimmering gold tiles cloaked the curved exterior and columns of the Quo Vadis giving it a quiet sparkling presence.

Close-up of the covered Box Office window with it's blue & gold-mosaic tiles.

Just prior to the Grand Opening of the Quo Vadis, a shipment of the tiles was lost in transit. This was a short-term setback and the deadline would be met with very little time to spare. The show went-on and a Grand Opening it was too.

The Quo Vadis was immediately and immensely successful. The brothers Shafer had achieved another piece in their dream of a grandiose entertainment complex that at one point, was to include a 5-story hotel with underground parking, and much much more.

2002 from Westland Mall side of Wayne Rd.

The Quo Vadis was often regarded as a "Movie Palace" for its plush environment and cocktail lounge and was one of the first cinemas to offer cocktail drinks to its patrons. It was well known for its "Over 21 Club" cocktail lounge on the second floor. Many folks that visited the Quo Vadis often dressed-up to see a film here as it was just "that grand" of an experience.

Interior of the Quo Vadis

In early-1968, an area on the second floor that had originally been designed as a sprawling restaraunt was redesigned into two tiny auditoriums and a smaller restaurant. This area would be called the Penthouse 1 & 2 (seating 400-each) and also included a bar to go along with the restaurant. This also gave it a more "exclusive" and "upscale" feel for the theatre.

2002 after the Quo Vadis closed.

An unusual feature to the Penthouse Restaurant was that while customers ate, they could wear headphones and view the movie on the screen of the nearby Algiers Drive-In through a large plate-glass window known as the "Picture Window Wall".

Interior Wallpaper

The Quo Vadis' owners had announced plans in 1969 for a third story that was to include a "rooftop-garden" theater and beer-garden, accomodating over 1,000 patrons, however, this only ever remained a "plan" and was never actually built.

2008 view of the Quo Vadis

A few short years after its initial opening, the original main auditorium was twinned into two theatres, seating about 540 each. This remodeling of the main auditorium took place in 1970. Later in the 1970’s, one of these 540-seat auditoriums was itself twinned. In the early 1980's, the "Over 21" restaurant (as it was known) was closed, and the space converted into yet another auditorium.

The empty marquees

It was one of the first theaters that offered you three or four movies to choose from, long before megaplexes with stadium seating and stereo sound were the "in-thing".

Some of the seats that remained.

With the advances in Home Theatre and other sources of entertainment, the adjacent Algiers would be closed in 1985 and demolished shortly thereafter. The property would then be made into a shopping center after that.

In 1986, the Quo Vadis Entertainment Center, as it was called by that time, was purchased by National Amusements, who continued to operate it as a multiplex. National Amusements also purchased other theatres owned by the Shafers in one-large "package deal" that included at least four of the Shafer-owned theatres if not more.

Snack bar with Roman-themed wall coverings behind.

Later on, National Amusements were showing declining attendance at the several theatres that they owned in Metro Detroit, aside from the Quo Vadis. In one fell-swoop, the theatres that were in Auburn Hills, Bloomfield Hills, and well as the Quo Vadis were all closed without much fanfare or warning.

Millions of dollars and millions of patrons had passed through the Quo Vadis' box office and front doors over the years. Almost thirty-seven years later revenue had declined to a almost a trickle and the last ticket was sold.

One of the projection rooms

The last films shown here and listed on the Marquee when it closed in January of 2002, were "Harry Potter", "Ali" and "Vanilla Sky".

Foyer

Later on, as part of repurposing efforts, many of the seats would be removed from the Quo Vadis and sold to another theater and even some to a church. The city of Westland proposed a Cultural Center, but nothing ever came of it and the theatre stood silent and dark with nothing on the marquee and a ‘for sale’ sign on the building.

Stairway leading to the Penthouse

There were many plans and efforts to save the Quo Vadis from the wrecking ball, but unfortunately none succeeded. As part of those efforts, there were fundraisers and support groups both online and in-person.

The Smoking Lounge

There was even efforts by a pair of Livonia High School students who recognized the value of the Quo Vadis and led a last ditch effort to preserve the theatre.

Upstairs Mens Restrooms

After only a few years of not being used, the building needed more "immediate attention" and repairs than what was thought economically feasible. The long-term cost of a restoration plan that "may or may not work" was deemed to not be very viable, considering the economy and the return on the investment, which was quite astounding at the time.

The entrance to the Quo Vadis including the chandelier

The Quo Vadis' building layout made it very difficult to repurpose the building into something else besides a theater. The theory was that the cost of such an attempt would be much more than it would cost to demolish the beautifully designed structure that had been a Wayne Road landmark since 1966.

Another view of the chandelier

On the positive side of that discussion, it was said that with a good work ethic, a positive attitude, and some elbow grease, a lot could be accomplished on this property and could turn this "eye sore" (as some had called it) into a beautiful oasis of long term business.

In the process of being demolished. 2011

Unfortunately, the demolition-plan won-out and the restoration efforts ceased. Demolition equipment was delivered to the site on March 8, 2011. Demolition of the Quo Vadis soon began a few days later and would be completed by the end of June 2011.

The end... of the Quo Vadis, June 2011

The "grand palaces" of our Entertainment History had lost another place to call home. There was none like the Quo Vadis and there will not be another like it. This wasn't something that was only known to the local folks that live in the area, but to many folks across the Metro Area as well as the Country.

An "Evolutionary" aerial view of the property at Wayne Road and Warren.

1964: Only the Algiers Drive-In was on the property.
1973: The Quo Vadis is shown on the northwest corner of the Algiers Drive In.
2002: Only the Quo Vadis remains, with the rest of the property being a Shopping Center.

IF you have any more information or details on this theatre,
please email me and i will include it in the description.

Thank you.

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Fvtarq Nggenpgvir

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A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
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(letter above equals below, and vice versa)