Radio City Theatre
22875 Woodward Avenue,
Ferndale,
MI
48220
22875 Woodward Avenue,
Ferndale,
MI
48220
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Co-Operative Theaters, RKO
Firms: Johnson Construction Co.
Styles: Art Deco
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About the only thing this 1,000 seat neighborhood theater had in common with its New York City namesake was that it was also built in Art Deco style. It opened in February 1937, as part of the RKO circuit (which in the metro Detroit area also included the RKO Downtown-originally the Oriental Theatre, and the RKO Uptown Theatre, better known by its later name, the Six Mile Theatre).
It was operated by Suburban Detroit Theatres in the 1960’s, who remodeled the Radio City Theatre in 1964. It was closed, however, by the early-1970’s, and has since been razed.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
I Saw a few movies there, it was a nice theatre. It was torn down when the Federals Dept. Store was demolished.
A photo of the Radio City, probably from 1964, can be seen here.
The Radio City Theatre in Ferndale, Michigan appears on my uncle’s Johnson Construction Company job list, but without a project date. Unfortunately my grandfather Albert S. “Al” Johnson’s theater project slide collection does not include any shots of this theater. For such an impressive theater, its absence in his slide collection is curious.
It’s not clear if my grandfather built the theatre in 1937 or if perhaps he did a later remodeling job. All of his theater jobs were completed between the early 1930s and 1952.
The March 2, 1937 issue of Film Daily reported that “William J. Schulte Circuit’s new Radio City Theater opened recently in Ferndale, Mich., with the Mayor, Council and other officials present.”