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Source: Fredrick George Ryan
The La Parisien was built by Walter Shafer somewhere around 1939 and was opened as the Shafer-Garden City. It was the second theater that the Shafer family owned, the other being the Shafer-Wayne. The Shafer-Garden City was remodeled and renamed a short time after the Quo Vadis opened, sometime around 1966.
There was a small hotel next door to the theater and above the current location of Platos Coney Island. There was a bowling alley on Middlebelt, just north of Ford Rd. Orin Jewelers was orginally a bank. The Mazzoni family now owns both Orin Jewelers and the former theater. Interesting fact, the La Pa (as it was know by those that worked there) was one of the first theaters in Detroit to have rocking chair seats.