Garden Theatre

dallasmovietheaters on March 9, 2025 at 7:03 am

Perhaps this is a technicality but the local paper states that Jennie I. Cleveland created the Bijou Theatre space opening in March 1905. Col. Butterfield soon acquired the venue likely doubling it in size by taking over the neighboring storefront. He then sold it to Waterman & Bryce of Michigan Vaudeville late in 1908 who refreshed it for summer of 1909. Butterfield and Michigan V. feuded briefly over vaudeville bookings with Butterfield taking over as the head of Michigan Vaudeville and reacquiring the Bijou for good.

In March of 1915, Butterfield announced a larger vaudeville house and said that the Bijou would be transitioned to the top end movie house of “the garden type” with live acts interspersed. It was renamed the Garden at its September 18, 1915 reboot.

In 1937, a new streamlined Garden Theater is announced by Butterfield Circuit with plans originally by Perara & Perara of Chicago. Those plans are rejected and the Garden hangs on all the way to 1939. New plans - cheaper and faster ones - are accepted from Charles H. Crane - that allow the theater’s side walls to be retained in a sub-$100k New Garden Theater. The Garden’s closure occurred on April 16, 1939 with “King of Chinatown.” Dismantling work started the next day and was completed within six months.

rivest266 on December 2, 2021 at 7:05 pm

September 28th, 1909

Joe Vogel on October 29, 2014 at 1:13 pm

The July 14, 1917, issue of Motography had this item about the first Garden Theatre:

“Colonel W. S. Butterfield of Battle Creek has closed all contracts for the remodeling of the Garden Theater at Flint. Plans have been made by Architect John Eberson of Chicago.”