The Terrace Theatre
Open: 1962 | Closed: 1999 | Capacity: 1200
The Terrace Cinema was Livonia's first movie theatre and was one of the first new movie houses in the Detroit area since the late 40s, not counting the Campus in Ann Arbor (1956). It was initially jointly operated by Suburban Detroit Theaters, Adolph & Irving Goldberg, and Lew Wisper & William Wetsman.
Exterior night view of the front of the Terrace Theater (1962)
It opened Thursday, September 20, 1962 with The Music Man as the opening feature. This film was released in (high-tech for the time) Super Technirama 70 (70mm with stereophonic sound). This was a rarity of the day and the color was enhanced through the use of a special development process that was used to enhance effects in the films The Vikings (1958) as well as The Music Man (1962). However, fewer than 40 films were produced using this process in the United States.
Poster from "The Music Man" starring Robert Preston,
Shirley Jones (Partridge Family) and Buddy Hackett.
The Terrace originally seated 1200 and was designed by Ted Rogvoy, who also was responsible for area theaters like the Mercury in Detroit and the Penn in Plymouth. It was designed in 'Chinese Garden' style, with minimal interior decor, though its canopy marquee was one of the largest ever built in the state, at 52 feet long. Also, its screen was enormous, as well, measuring 59' by 27'.
Exterior daylight view of the front of the Terrace Theater
In the early 70s, the auditorium was twinned, and it became the Terrace 1-2. At that time, the 70mm projection equipment was removed as it was no longer needed for the "twin theatre" style. In the 1980s, it was sold to the Cinemark chain of theatres and converted into a Quad. This conversion also caused the name to change to the Cinemark Terrace 4.
The Marquee, after the closing in 1999
In 1999, the theatre closed for good and would later be converted into an Auto showroom for one of the local dealers. The building remains intact as the dealership since that time.
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