Historic movie palaces / Lansing
Gladmer Theatre
Closed – archive entry · 1873–1979
Lansing's 1873 opera house became the Gladmer in 1910, was reborn in Streamline Moderne style in 1939 and showed movies on North Washington Avenue until 1979.
Quick facts
- Opened
- 1873
- Closed
- 1979
- Architect
- E.E. Myers (1873); Fuller Claflin (1910); Elmer Keeler of the C. Howard Crane firm (1939)
- Style
- Streamline Moderne (1939 rebuild)
- Seats
- 1485
02 / The story of this place
Make time for these
The Gladmer began as Buck's Opera House, designed by E.E. Myers and opened in May 1873. It became Baird's Opera House in 1890 and the Gladmer Theatre in 1910 after a remodel by Fuller Claflin. In 1939 it was gutted and rebuilt in Streamline Moderne style to a design by Elmer Keeler of C. Howard Crane's firm, reopening on October 12, 1939. The Butterfield chain ran it, with 1,485 seats. It closed on March 25, 1979. The building found no buyer until 1984, when it was sold and demolished.
- Opened as an opera house in 1873
- Rebuilt in Streamline Moderne style in 1939
- A 1,485-seat Butterfield house until 1979
Plan your visit
The Gladmer closed in 1979 and was torn down in 1984, so you won't find it on North Washington Avenue. For a movie night, pick one of the open cinemas in our guide.