Phoenix Theatre
236 Center Street,
South Haven,
MI
49090
236 Center Street,
South Haven,
MI
49090
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Paramount Pictures Inc.
Previous Names: Center Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Center Theatre was operating prior to 1941 and in the 1940’s it was operated by Paramount Pictures Inc. through their subsidiary W.S. Butterfield Theaters Theaters Inc. and Butterfield Michigan Theaters Co.
By 1950 it had been renamed Phoenix Theatre.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 1 comments)
An item about the opening of the Michigan Theatre at South Haven that appeared in the July 11, 1947 issue of Film Daily noted that the house was a replacement for the Center Theater which had burned on January 2. However, local newspaper articles published on March 28 and June 20, 1947, both say that the Centre Theatre had burned on February 1, 1945, and Butterfield was unable to rebuild right away due to restrictions by the War Production Board. The newspaper articles are on display at the Michigan Theatre page at Water Winter Wonderland.
In any case, it appears that the Phoenix Theatre is a phantom. The Centre (the most common spelling of the name) Theatre was entirely destroyed in 1945 and replaced on the same site by the Michigan Theatre in 1947. South Haven’s only other theater of the period, the Model on Phoenix Street, opened in 1938. Neither CinemaTour nor Water Winter Wonderland lists a Phoenix Theatre at South Haven.
As for the Centre, Water Winter Wonderland has this page for it. It opened on April 13, 1920, originally seating 652 (the 1926 FDY says 438) but expanded to 731 in a 1934 remodeling. Destroyed by a fire on February 2, 1945.