From the beginning, the Little Theatre broke new ground, opening with the first foreign film shown in Detroit, Cyrano De Bergerac. In 1927, the Century Club completed construction of its adjoining building, the Little Theatre of Detroit (now the Gem Theater). Forbes began a complete restoration of the Century Club facility after a record-breaking five-block relocation of the entire structure, and the building is one of Detroit’s most intimate and charming venues today. The Century Club building operated as a restaurant under various names until the 1950’s when it was known as The Russian Bear.Īround 1980, developer Charles Forbes purchased the entire building, bringing the Gem and Century under single ownership again.

The Twentieth Century Club disbanded during The Great Depression and the Little Theatre and Century Club were lost to foreclosure. The building opened at the corner of Columbia and Witherell streets on December 26, 1903. Built in 1903 by the Twentieth Century Association, a group of civic and philanthropic minded women, the Century Club set a precedent even before a brick was laid, holding Detroit’s first building permit issued in a woman’s name. The Historic Gem and Century Theatres and Century Grille have a history of breaking records. Source: The Detroit Opera House parking lot, which will be transformed and activated via tactical urbanism at CNU 24. The Detroit Opera House main theater seating. As a world-class performance venue, the opera house has hosted stars such as Louis Armstrong, Luciano Pavarotti and Roy Orbison. In 1996, it reopened in all its original glory after an extensive restoration project. Howard Crane, it opened in 1922 as the Capitol Theater and changed ownership several times before closing in 1985. Designed by prominent Detroit architect C. Learn about the venues below.ĭetroit’s premier destination for a special night out, the Detroit Opera House is a stunning 2,700-seat venue in the city’s Grand Circus Park Historic District. We will be using several unique spaces across multiple venues and locations over the four days of the Congress. CNU 24 will be the most immersive, and dispersed, Congress ever.

Detroit opera house seating chart