(DCH) The Hollywood Theatre Traditional Cache
Hidden : 3/22/2013
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

The Detroit Cinema History (DCH) 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 Michigan Cinema History (MCH) and Ontario Cinema History (OCH) series.)
Detroit Cinema History:
The Hollywood Theatre
4809 W Fort St - Detroit
OPEN: 1927 | CLOSED: 1959 | SEATS: 3436



The front of the Hollywood Theatre (1930's).
This would be the view from where the cache
is located if the Hollywood was still standing today.
When the Hollywood opened on September 24, 1927, it was Detroit's second largest movie palace and had the capacity to seat well over 3400 patrons. It was one of Detroit's great neighborhood movie palaces and served southwest Detroit and the western suburbs.

A rendering of the Hollywood Theatre by its architect, Charles N. Agree

 Although Charles N. Agree got the commission for the Spanish style Hollywood Theatre, he was not known for being a "theatre architect" back in 1927 and because of this he consulted with Graven & Mayger, the architects of the then-soon-to-open Fisher Theatre. Graven & Mayger were former Rapp & Rapp (theatre architectural firm from Chicago) employees who went off on their own at that time. They had designed the Alabama Theatre in Birmingham AL, and the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville TN. Agree's design palette had much influence from Graven & Mayger and lent itself to many of Agree's projects in the area including the Grande and Vanity Ballrooms, as well as the Fisher Theatre in Midtown Detroit.

Looking down from the top of the staircase into the lobby, 1940's

The design of the theatre was in the Spanish Renaissance Style complete with a large balcony, stage, and orchestra pit, as well as a $75,000 Barton organ. The installation of this organ was the first of its kind. Its lobby was 60 feet tall, and the entire interior was full of multi-colored marble, gilded plasterwork, and valuable artwork. The facade of the Hollywood Theatre, with twin minaret-looking towers, soared over Fort Street, and it originally had a large vertical marquee. Its standard original marquee was intricately decorated with a rainbow colored neon-lit swirling pattern.

In the Hollywood's auditorium

Owners Ben and Lou Cohen built the fantastic Spanish-style theater at a cost of $2 million and was located almost three miles southwest of the long-established downtown entertainment district, Grand Circus Park. The brothers were trying to keep the costs down and in doing so they purchased land that was not as expensive as the places in the central Downtown area, where most of the other theatres were. This area where they decided to build was primarily industrial, with less population density than in the Downtown area.

In the three-year period from 1925 to 1928, the majority of Detroit's downtown and big neighborhood theaters were opened, adding a massive 23,000 movie theater seats to Detroit's already large total in the downtown and midcity areas.
The Hollywood Theatre's opening performance featured the movie 'Alias the Deacon' and the "Hollywood-Sunnybrook Orchestra," led by Sammy Diebert. The Orchestra would be a mainstay of the Hollywood for the first few years of it's existance here.

1927 release of 'Alias The Deacon' starring Jean Hersholt, June Marlowe, and Ralph Graves
There were a few "firsts" that the Hollywood Theatre established in the motion picture exhibition field. This magnificent theater featured a "cry room" in the back of the theater with darkened glass (to prevent seeing in) where mothers could take children who had become unruly or loud or just bored with the show. The room was sound proof so the kids could cry and make all the noise they wanted without disturbing the other patrons. It was also used by nursing mothers who didn't want to miss the show, or have some privacy to take care of their little ones. Baby formulas could be warmed in here, and even provided if necessary. Sound from the movie, stage show and organ, was piped-in via a public address system.



Long a Detroit landmark, this Hollywood Theater sign once spelled "luxury" for movie fans at the theater on Fort at Ferdinand.

Another first was that the theatre management would provide free parking for it's patrons. A lot at the rear of the theater could accommodate 700 cars. As the need grew, additional space adjacent to the theater property was lead for 800 cars.

Opening Ad for the Hollywood, 1927

One of the more noted "firsts" with the Hollywood was, of course the Barton Organ that was a massive sight to behold.

The late Bobby Clarke is shown during a nostalgic visit he paid to the
$75,000 Barton organ he played on the Hollywood's opening day in 1927.
It was once Detroit's costliest neighborhood movie house.
One of the unusual things that happened to (or was associated with) the Hollywood was a "secret" film that was taken of the Ford Motor Company's first 8-cylinder car, the V-8.

1932 Ford V8 Model 18 Standard Tudor Sedan

Tom McGuire, former managing director of the Hollywood Theater and general manger of the eight-theater circuit for the Cohens, had an idea to boost business. The year was 1932 and and theater business everywhere was in a downward spiral.

Several weeks before the new V-8 was to be publicly revealed, McGuire, on the lookout for an exploitation stunt to bolster the faltering box office, was approached by a young man who told him he knew how to get pictures of the new Ford V-8, then being tested secretly on isolated roads in the downriver area.

After several weeks of disappointment, the photographer came back with film that ended up being about 40 minutes long, once edited, and contained six different models of the V-8. There was no ill-will or ill-intent on the part of the Theatre management, as many of the patrons of the Hollywood were Ford employees.

After Ford was notified of the film's existance, McGuire gave it to the company and would later come up with agreements to showcase and display the debut of the brand-new car at an unveiling that attracted tremendous crowds. This generated some interest in the Hollywood Theatre again, but it was short-lived. "The dip into the car business proved a bonanza for the Hollywood. But it didn't last," McGuire reflected sadly.

Closeup of the facade of the massive Hollywood Theatre (1930's)

The popularity of the Hollywood was about on-par with most of the theatres in the area during the rest of the 1930's. Some changes came-along in the 1940's and 1950's where double-features (two films for 1 price) came about, but this did little to boost the business that was on a steady, downward slide. Another problem that plagued the Hollywood was the refusal to jump onto the widescreen boom that came-along in the 1950's, which didn't help matters much either.

1947 view of the Hollywood

The business there never was what they had hoped, and the Hollywood limped along until the late 50s. Its Barton organ was thought by the 1920s organists to be the second best theatre organ in Detroit, behind the Wurlitzer in the Broadway-Capitol. It is one of three of the largest stock model Bartons.

1950 view of the front of the Hollywood

The Late Henry Przybylski purchased the organ in a sealed bid auction (for $3551. 51--a strategic sum) before the theatre was demolished. It sat in storage in his basement, attic and garage for decades before being purchased from his widow. Detroit theatre organ enthusast Roger Mumbrue played the Hollywood Barton many times over a 4 year period, and attests to its quality. It is now owned by a private individual who wants to restore it and install it into a public venue.  It is not known whether this has been accomplished yet, or ever will be, but it would be a true gem of days-gone-by to hear the Barton from the Hollywood sing it's wide range of beautiful tones once again.
Matchbook Cover from the Hollywood Theatre

Most people associated with the Hollywood Theatre attributed the decline mainly to it's location, always being "out of the way" and far away from the population centers of the City of Detroit, making it a grand palace with mediocre popularity throughout it's existance.

Since it never got into the widescreen features or roadshows, the Hollywood suffered along with double-billed films and finally closed in May 1958 with "Blonde in Bondage" and "The Flesh is Weak" as it's two final shows. The theatre would then sit empty for the next five years until the decision was made to demolish the grand building to make way for something else.

Hollywood Theatre Bows Out

Demolition began in 1963 and was such a massive undertaking and was such a problem-ridden process that the first two of the contractors hired to do the job went broke in trying to complete it.

 Several former patrons had documented the demolition in photos and had shared them with other former visitors to the Hollywood that some said it was "almost like being there."  Out of the rumble and roar of demolition remain only memories of the gaudiest and dizziest days the motion picture industry has ever known... and a place to park many cars to this day.

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

Thank you.

BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS HERE.
MUGGLES ARE AROUND DAY/NIGHT/24-7.

THIS CACHE IS BEST FOUND DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Fgbc sbe uvqr :-)

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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