Ken Theatre

graymatters on April 18, 2021 at 5:00 pm

The extensive write-up of the Ken Theatre in the “1947 theater catalog” on this site does not include the name of the general contractor. So we can’t be 100% sure who built the theater.

Beginning in 1948 my grandfather Albert S. “Al” Johnson shot Kodachrome slides of most of the sixty-four Michigan theaters and drive-ins that his Johnson Construction Company built - including those that he’d built prior that year. His collection includes one exterior image of the Ken, taken in June 1948. The marquee says “Comedy Carnival Color Cartoons and Shorts.” I’ve uploaded the image to this page.

Although the “Quonset hut” architecture of the building is unique, the style of the entrance is similar to other theaters built by Johnson. Whether or not Al built the Ken, he left us with a nice image from 1948.

steelbeard1 on September 12, 2007 at 2:52 pm

I forgot to add that this theater was torn down long ago.

kencmcintyre on March 18, 2007 at 8:10 pm

Here is a 1948 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/2mbzel

kencmcintyre on January 29, 2006 at 12:22 am

Go easy on the Ken and Barbie jokes. it’s bad karma.