Southlawn Theatre
4000 Division Avenue S,
Grand Rapids,
MI
49548
4000 Division Avenue S,
Grand Rapids,
MI
49548
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Independent Exhibitors Theater Services
Functions: Auto Repair Shop
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The Southlawn Theatre opened in 1928. It closed in 1929 as a silent movie theatre. It was used as a church, and reopened as a movie theatre on August 15, 1931 with Harry Carey in “Trader Horn” and equipped with Western Electric sound. By 1950 it was operated by Independent Exhibitors Theater Services. The Southlawn Theatre was closed on January 31, 1954 with Ronald Reagan in “Tropic Zone” & Stephen McNally in “The Stand at Apache River”. It was used as a storage facility. Today the building is used for a custom motorcycle shop.
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Lost Memory
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
The photo page for this theater includes a scan of a 1954 newspaper photo, the caption of which indicates that the theater was being converted into offices for a freighting company. The photo shows that the theater’s poster cases still have the name Southlawn over them. The headline over the photo also says Southlawn Theatre.
As the house was still listed as the Southlawn Theatre in the 1950 FDY, and was closed by 1954, at which time the name Southlawn was still on the poster cases, I suspect that it never was called the Southland Theatre.
I also have a suspicion that the name Southland became attached to this theater through a typo near the bottom of this web page. Under some scans of ads for the theater is the line “The Southland Theater advertisements are from in and around 1936.” But the ads clearly say Southlawn.
Gladys Johnson established the Southlawn Theatre Corporation in 1928. Likely using non-union projectionists, the Southlawn is attacked by stink bombs on the same day as targeting of the Creston, Stocking, Idlehour, Fulton, Biltmore, Alcazar, Royal, Rivoli, Liberty, Madison, Michigan, Madison, and Franklin theaters.
The Southlawn closed without converting to sound becoming home to a house of worship from 1929 and into 1931. But the venue reopened with sound on August 15, 1931 with “Trader Horn.” The Southlawn closed at the expiry of a 25-year lease on January 31, 1954 with “Tropic Zone” and “The Stand at Apache River.” It was converted for other purposes almost immediately thereafter.