Oakdale Theatre
Eight Mile Road and Oakland Street,
Hazel Park,
MI
48030
Eight Mile Road and Oakland Street,
Hazel Park,
MI
48030
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My uncle’s list of Johnson Construction Company theater jobs indicates two projects associated with the Oakdale Theatre in Hazel Park Michigan. The date of the first job was simply identified as “orig” and the second project was dated 1947, so it’s not clear whether my grandfather Al Johnson’s company built the theater originally or just remodeled it a couple of times.
The WaterWinterWonderland.com website describes: “…located on the northwest corner of 8 mile and Stephenson Hwy/Oakland Ave in Hazel Park, next to Oak gas station on the corner. There was also a dance hall located upstairs next to [a] Dr. office next to theater.”
The Oakdale theater and several businesses were housed in the Meinke Building. The doctor’s office described above was the Helene Meinke Hospital, named for Dr. Herman Meinke’s wife. Dr. Meinke delivered several members (and at least two generations) of our family. My grandfather Al Johnson, who founded the construction company, ultimately passed away in Meinke Hospital in 1958.
Al left behind two wonderfully colorful Kodachrome slides with street views of the theater taken in December 1949. I’ve uploaded these to this page.
The theater features three pairs of the patented red “Johnson doors,” an ornate marquee and a prominent vertical “Oakdale” sign. In both images you can also see several of the businesses adjacent to the theater, including a five & dime store, dance hall, department store and a barber/beauty salon.
The Oakdale was part of the Schulte Circuit in the early sixties.