Detroit preservationists, unite! The Senate Theater on Michigan Avenue, home to the Detroit Theater Organ Society and run by volunteers, has started a campaign to keep the doors open and replace its letterboard outside.
The Senate Theater is home to a Wurlitzer organ from the Fisher Theater, which we featured recently. When the theater was redesigned in the midcentury, the Fisher brothers sold the organ and it found a new home at the Senate Theater. According to Detroit Theater Organ Society president Lance Luce, "The organ is in excellent shape, we keep it very well maintained and playing for concerts every month for the past 50+ years!! "
There are additional pictures of the organ on the DTOS page.
The theater was opened in 1926 and closed in 1955. The DTOS has called it home and kept it open through volunteer hours since.
The group is hoping to raise $150,000 to replace the signage out front and keep their doors open. Their campaign is through GoFundMe.
- Senate Theater Marquee [GoFundMe]
- Exclusive: Rare photos inside the original Fisher Theatre [Curbed Detroit]
- Detroit Theater Organ Society