(MCH) The Circle-Camelot Theatre Traditional Cache
Hidden : 5/3/2014
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:
The Michigan Cinema History (MCH)
caches are dedicated to the local creation,
viewing, or enjoyment of cinema-related
items in the local area.

This can include, and is not limited to, people, places, and things
relating to Cinema or both past-and-present.
This series is a companion to
the Detroit Cinema History (DCH) and
the Ontario Cinema History (OCH) series.



Michigan Cinema History:
The Circle-Camelot Theatre
12715 W. Warren Ave -- Dearborn, MI 48126



OPEN: Nov. 12, 1937 | CLOSED: 1990's | SEATS: 1051


The Circle Theatre (1937)
The Circle Theater opened in 1937 and was designed by the architecture firm of Bennett & Straight, who had also designed other area theatres such as the Midway over on Schaefer.  There was also a local bar called the CIRCLE, but it's unclear if the bar had any affiliation with the theatre, aside from the name.

The theatre was built by Joesph Stoia and his partner Joesph Miskinis and was a grand affair when it opened.  After it's Grand Opening, it appeared in the January 8, 1938 issue of Boxoffice Magazine, complete with pictures and a two-page spread detailing the design cues that were sure to make this one of the American Gems of the Movie Theatre and Entertainment Industry.

Proscineum of the Circle Theatre

The theatre accommodations were spacious but comfortable, with auditorium seating for 1,800 patrons.  The theatre featured a large foyer, a circular rotunda approximately 38-feet indiameter, a lobby that measured 27-feet by 42 feet, a large projection room, retiring rooms, management offices and property rooms, as well as two stores.

The Main entrance was on West Warren, and entry to the main theatre was through a large lobby of sufficient length, allowing for dignified and effective displays of coming attractions and current offerings.

The ceiling was a suspended barrel vault of metal lath and plaster and the wall treatements were a combination of eight-inch square cinder-block laid-out in a pattern where the vertical and horizontal joines were in a continuous line.  The blocks were a soft green shade with a surface that was glazed and decorated in relief with black structural glas pilasters.  The fluted effect that was present was obtained by a specific sandblasting process and between the pilasters was a built-in illumination for display cases of extruded aluminum.

Alternate wall-spaces between the pilasters were treated with a combined ornamental pilaster and colored mirror motif and the lighting effects were concealed within the plaster cornice.
 

August 1979

The circular rotunda was entered from the lobby and functioned as a means of altering the traffic flow from the foyer to the central portion of the auditorium foyer and also gave access to the Management offices and prop rooms.

There were various shades of burgundy and were scallopped with gold paint.  The door openings were encased in 6-inch bands of black structural glass which also followed around the base of the rotunda which had lighting supplied by two bands of concealed lights, showing red and blue into the ceiling.  Three shades of terrazzo composed the floor design, which complimented the circular floor area.

Even the managers office had some decorative cues, being decorated with a stippled design.

Mid-1990's, vacant
The auditorium foyer was entered from the rotunda, where patrons would find the carpeted floor covering reinforced concrete for strength.  The auditorium itself was comprised of stippled plaster that decorated the warmly-colored ceiling, with the conceiled lighting shining on it and pilasters decorated the walls for the patrons enjoyment.

The City of Dearborn held Christmas parties for school kids at theaters like the Circle as well as the other area theatres such as the Carmen and Calvin (on Michigan Ave).  Kids usually could get in for free and would be given a candy bar (many times a Baby Ruth) and be able to watch a movie.  A Deal for the entertainment, for sure.

This theatre had been "modern" for it's time.  The designs and effort that had been given to the construction of this masterpiece in the late 1930's would soon be remodeled after a mere 25 years of existence.


2001 view of the site.  After the Grocery Store purchased the property

Nicholas George Theatres purchased the Circle Theatre in the early 60's and it was advertised as a "Nice place to Go" with lots of family shows and Good first run features.   For many patrons who would visit other area theatres, the lobby reminded them of the Rivera Theatre on Grand River as well as the Ramona (at 6 mile & Gratiot) with the Tower/collum format and design.

NGT decided to change the name in 1963, along with some of the decor, to a more midieval-style and theme from what it had been.  The theatre would be known as the Camelot from that time on.

In 1988, Eric and Ervin Steiner purchased the theater and it would become the Camelot 1-2-3, with its spacious single-auditorium split into three.


2001 evening view of the location

When business began to decline in the early-to-mid 1990's, the decision was made to close the Camelot.  The building and property would be sold and the space remodeled into a grocery store for the neighborhood residents to shop at.  For the first few years, it would retain some of the design cues from the original Circle Theatre days, but eventually another remodel would completely remove any reminders that this had been a place of movie magic that people came to see a show on a lazy afternoon for just a bit of pocket change.

 For those that rememeber this classic theatre as either the Circle, or the Camelot, the memories remain vivid and just as if they were yesterday.  This is what makes this theatre a part of Michigan Cinema History.



If you have any more information or
details on this theatre, please email me
and i will include it in the description.

Thank you.

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A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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