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Source: Cinema Treasures
A late C. Howard Crane design in Art Moderne style, opening in late 1940, the Farmington Civic sat about 550 on the main floor and about 200 in the balcony. The theater has an elegant blade marquee and elegant facade, in shades of red and off-white. Though officially just the Civic Theatre, it was advertised as the Farmington Civic, so as not to confuse it with the Civic-Detroit (or Detroit-Civic, as it was variously called) a few miles away.
The only time the Civic ever closed in its history was in the winter of 1989-90 when Louis Wiltse tastefully converted the balcony into a piggy-backed second auditorium. It was reopened as the Farmington Civic 2 in early 1990, showing second-run fare. The Civic is one of the few old-fashioned movie houses still in operation in all of southwestern Michigan, and has lost none of its charm and style over the decades.