Huron Theatre - Waterford MI

Address: 941 W Huron St
City: Waterford
State: MI
Zip: 48341
County: Oakland
Open: 1942
Capacity:
Owner History:
Theater Type: Small Town Movie Palace
Number of visits to this page: 24876
Disclaimer:

Please note that location entries may feature older photos or post card views that may not represent the current appearance, features, addresses, phone numbers, or contact names of the attraction. This site is intended to be a historical as well as current record of various attractions but it is not always possible to have up-to-date information due to the vast number of locations featured here. We ask you consult the propietor for current information.

General Information:

Source: Andy Gray

My uncle's Johnson Construction Company projects list shows the 1941 Huron Theatre job in Pontiac. Online artifacts from its opening night in June 1942 also show the theater in Pontiac. Google Maps shows the address as being in Waterford Township.

In August 1948 (several years after he'd built the theater) my grandfather Albert S. "Al" Johnson, shot a single slide showing the exterior of the Huron. In that image, the theater appears as a typical art moderne style theater with three pairs of blue doors with matching half-moon glass ("Johnson doors").

From Cinema Treasures

Located at the busy intersection of West Huron Street and North Telegraph Road, the Huron Theatre opened in June 1942 seating 426. It lasted until December 24, 1983, when it was destroyed by fire. It was a single floor theatre with a nondescript front but had a triangular shaped marquee with a lot of neon. The upper portion of the front was in a light colored tile paneling down to street level and then changed to a darker color. Small lobby in an Art Deco motif with painting of stripes and circles on the walls.

Source: Michael

The Huron was owned by Francis C. Bouford and Forest Kistler. The original cost was $75,000. They also owned the Oakland and later Maple Leaf Dairy Co, on Howard street in Pontiac.

Info Updates:
11/9/2022 - Sarah B
Cinema treasures page http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/8533
12/29/2014 - Joe M.
I lived on the street right behind it, Myrtle, and remember the Huron Theater well. Everybody just called it the Huron. When we were kids, we would make a run up there to get a free bag of popcorn at Halloween, and I went to many Saturday afternoon matinees to see the goofy kids movies that Disney made in the seventies. I actually worked there in my high school years, in the early 80's,and gave people as much butter as they wanted on their popcorn. Changing the letters on the marquis involved standing on a ladder with traffic zooming by on M-59. There was a standing area behind the seats, and the bathrooms were there, so you didn't have to leave the viewing area for long. There was a cry room upstairs, right next to the projector room, and there was a wooden stage in front of the screen. I remember the night the Huron burned down, because the fire was so bright it lit up the window shades of our house. When we lifted the shades, we could see the flames shooting out of the roof. I walked up there to watch. It was a bitterly cold night, and they had a hard time fighting the fire because their equipment kept freezing. They demolished the building soon after that.
 Photos:7
Huron Theatre - Courtesy Al Johnson
Courtesy Al Johnson
Huron Theatre - Courtesy Al Johnson
Courtesy Al Johnson
Huron Theatre - Courtesy Al Johnson
Courtesy Al Johnson
Huron Theatre - Old Pic From Walts Coney Island
Old Pic From Walts Coney Island
Huron Theatre - Old Pic
Old Pic
Huron Theatre - Oliver Moore - Projectionist
Oliver Moore - Projectionist
Huron Theatre - Grand Opening From Ken Martin
Grand Opening From Ken Martin
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