(MCH) The Liberty Theatre Traditional Cache
Hidden : 4/8/2013
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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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 Liberty Theatre
Van Dyke at Weingartz Avenue - Center Line, MI
 
OPEN: 1927 | CLOSED: 1950's | SEATS: 400 (estimated)
 

1945 view of the Liberty
 
The Liberty Theatre was located on Van Dyke north of 10 Mile at the southwest corner of Van Dyke and Weingartz Avenues and was built as a small, neighborhood theatre right in the heart of Center Line. Like many theatres of the day, the Liberty had a beautiful theatre organ to accompany the films shown that originally were silent and needed an accompanying soundtrack to go along with the show.
 

The theatre organ was installed in the Liberty at a cost of $8,000 and was thought to be very extravagant for the time because of the onset of the Great Depression that began in 1929, only a couple years after the Liberty opened to the public.
 

The Liberty (As Grissom Collision) in 1962 (far right)
 
Admission to the Liberty in the early 1950's was around 14-cents for most shows and was a good way to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon and refreshments were handled by a contracted company named J & J Vending.

Next to the Liberty was a small Lumberyard that was originally Robinson's Lumber and later became Gibbs Lumber.

In the early 1950's, the Liberty would become a religious home known as the Liberty Temple, and this was organized and led by the Reverand Ralph Hart, along with his Texas Musical Harts. Hart and his musical group would later move to the Nortown Theater in Detroit at 7 mile and Van Dyke.



Grissom Collision would be the last business to occupy the Liberty Theatre building
(mid-to-late 1960's)

Later-on it would become a skating rink for a few years and be known as Skelly's Roller Skating Rink. This unfortunately didn't last either and it's last-known use was as an repair shop known as Grissom's Collision. The signage and marquee was kept for the business until the building was demolished in the late 1960's/early 1970's to make way for the next stage of development in the city, a shopping center and a small "vest-pocket" park.
 

1970's view of the "vest-pocket park" that was built here.

In the early 1970's, as part of Center Line's urban renewal project, the entire northwest corner of 10 mile and Van Dyke was demolished and a strip-shopping-center was built further-back from the main streets.  The eastern-most 300 feet of Weingartz and Wiegand Avenues were vacated and a new north-south street was built that routed traffic to the north, ending at Engleman Ave. 

This "vest-pocket park" was built on part of the vacated Weingartz Ave. right-of-way and both the new street and park were named after Paul G. Hazen who was the son of former Center Line Mayor Adelbert Hazen and Leona Borsekowski. 
 

Paul was born Sep 7, 1944 and was drafted in Dec 4, 1965 to serve in the US Army during the VietNam War.  SP4 Paul Hazen served a tour of duty that ended on Sept 23, 1966 when he was killed during hostile action.  He was the first soldier from Center Line to be killed in the line-of-duty during that conflict.
 

IF you have any more information or details on this location, 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.
 

 

 

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Oyraqf jryy

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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