Adams Theatre

02 / The story of this place

Make time for these

The Adams opened on September 1, 1917, as a Kunsky playhouse designed by C. Howard Crane, and switched to silent films within a year. The box office sat in Louis Kamper's Fine Arts Building on Grand Circus Park, while the 1,770-seat auditorium stood on Elizabeth Street, so patrons crossed the alley by an enclosed bridge or a tunnel. Archery pioneer Fred Bear said a 1927 silent film he saw here launched his career. Later run by H & E Balaban, it installed CinemaScope in 1953 and was split into three screens in 1988. That year brought a fatal shooting during Tougher Than Leather and, in the autumn, a shoot-out during Child's Play; the Adams closed for good in November 1988. Mike Ilitch bought it in 1992; it was demolished in May and June 2009 with state grant money, leaving only the Fine Arts facade.

• An “alley-jumper” reached by bridge or tunnel
• Fred Bear saw his life-changing film here
• CinemaScope in 1953, triplexed in 1988

Plan your visit

The Adams is gone: it was demolished in 2009, with only the Fine Arts Building facade left standing at Grand Circus Park. For a night at the movies, check the Detroit cinemas in our guide that are still open.