Architecture & design
C. Howard Crane
1885–1952 · architect
Theater architect who gave Detroit its movie palaces and concert halls, including the Fox Theatre, Orchestra Hall and the old Olympia Stadium.
- Born
Hartford, Connecticut- Died
London, England
aged 67- Birth name
- Charles Howard Crane
- Also known as
- Charles Howard Crane
- Detroit years
- 1904–1930
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Crane moved from Hartford to Detroit in 1904, aged 19, and trained in local offices before opening his own practice. He became one of America's leading theater architects, with some 250 theaters to his name, 62 of them in the Detroit area. His Detroit work traces the city's entertainment boom: the Majestic Theatre (1915), Orchestra Hall (1919), built in a few months for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Opera House (1922), the State Theatre, now the Fillmore (1925), and the United Artists Theatre Building (1928). His masterpiece was the Fox Theatre (1928), a lavish 5,000-seat palace with an attached office tower and the largest of all the Fox theaters. He also designed Olympia Stadium on Grand River Avenue (1927), home of the Red Wings until 1979 and a major concert venue, which was razed in 1987. Disillusioned after the 1929 crash, he moved to London in 1930, though he kept his Detroit office open.
Highlights
- Fox Theatre (1928), the largest of the Fox movie palaces
- Orchestra Hall (1919), home of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
- Olympia Stadium (1927), home of the Red Wings, razed 1987
- Detroit Opera House (1922) and the State Theatre, now the Fillmore (1925)
- About 250 theaters in his career, 62 in the Detroit area
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 5
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Worked here · 1928
Fox Theatre
His lavish movie palace, restored in 1988 and still one of Detroit's main stages.
Worked here · 1919
Detroit Symphony Orchestra — Orchestra Hall
Concert hall he designed for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, today part of the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center.
Worked here · 1922
Detroit Opera House
Built as the Capitol Theatre; restored and reopened as the Detroit Opera House in 1996.
Worked here · 1925
The Fillmore Detroit
His State Theatre, now the Fillmore concert venue.
Worked here · 1927
Olympia Stadium
Demolished · 1927–1979
Home of the Red Wings from 1927 to 1979 and a major concert hall; razed in 1987, the site is now a Michigan National Guard armory.