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Shores Theatre long delayed renovation may get go ahead
posted by
philbertgray
on
December 14, 2007 at 3:46 pm
ST. CLAIR SHORES, MI — The Shores Theatre opened in 1935. It was built in the Deco style and maintained operation until it closed in November 2006. Somewhere along the way the theatre was duplexed. The current redesign was conceived after a plan to demolish the theatre completely and build an eight screen complex was shot down.
Nearby businesses in downtown St. Clair filed lawsuits in November of 2006 which continue to delay the expansion. The businesses claim the expansion will leave only five parking spaces instead of the current twenty four. They fear this will result in theatre attendees parking in spaces for the neighboring businesses.
The current plan will gut the theatre in order to change the twined theatre seating from 440 to five screens with 508 seats. The local historical society has pledged to save the theatre’s existing marquee but photos of the theatre’s exterior from 1936 until the present, including an artists rendering of the front of the redesigned front, look more like a malgamation of parts of both the original and the current marquees. These photos along with an artist’s concept can be seen at the Water Winter Wonderland website near the bottom of the page. The website also has pictures and information on several indoor theatres in the area. Sadly most are now gone.
An article on the present state of the renovation can be found at the C & G Newspapers website along with a photo of the theatre’s less than impressive current exterior.
