Civic Theatre -
Have
you ever heard of the Civic Theater in downtown Grand Rapids? Maybe you have
heard about the Majestic, which was once a movie theatre that occupied the Civic
Theatre Building.
The building that the Civic Theatre now occupies was built in the Grecian architecture style in 1903. Next year the building will celebrate its 100th anniversary. There weren’t any post or pillar in the theater which allowed everyone to see the stage. Colonel J. M. Wood was the architect of the structure and Echert Brothers did the interior decorating. The theater had a seating capacity of about 1700. The balcony alone could seat approximately 600 people on wooden benches.
Today the Civic Theatre is made up of four different
buildings. The scene shop, which has an 18-foot high ceiling, was once the
Botsford Building
that
housed Grinnell’s Music. The costume shop used to be the lobby of the old
Majestic Movie Theatre. Did you know that it was possible to drive a team of
horses from the street directly upon the stage? The theater’s stage used to be
the largest in the state. On one side of the entrance to the theatre, there used
to be a store that sold cigars, candy, and flowers.
The Grand Rapids Civic Theatre is celebrating its 76th season this year. It is the largest community theatre in Michigan and the third largest in the United States. A community theatre does not pay the actors. They volunteer their time and talent.
In the beginning the Civic Players performed in
many different buildings such as St. Cecilia, Ladies Literary Clubhouse, and
finally moving to the Majestic Movie Theatre building in 1979. Mr. Paul Dreher,
Civic Theatre Director at the time, headed the renovation of the building by the
Owen, Ames and Kimball Construction Company. The theatre and three other
buildings were connected to provide the needed space for scene building, costume
storage, dressing rooms, and classrooms. This new Civic Theatre opened to the
public in October 1979. Now more than 100,000 people attend plays there each
year.
For more information on theater arts go to www.grct.org .