Quick Facts

NPS Description

218 South Main Street. Ward Theater, 1937. 

Contributing 

Description

The Art Deco Ward Theater is one of downtown’s visual delights, meriting restoration of its missing and deteriorated features. The two-story building’s 66-foot frontage on South Main Street is constructed of decorative porcelain-enamel panels fastened to concrete block backing. The panels are salmon-colored with bright red vertical accents anchored by horizontal black and red banding at the base. The second floor has narrow vertical steel double-hung windows; the four windows above the center marquee are replacement units. The blue and white triangular marquee projects above the sidewalk and is topped with bright red neon letters spelling out “WARD” on either side.The building is crowned with a stepped parapet in front of a flat roof. The storefront below the marquee is of replacement red brick with an aluminum and glass entry and ticket box. A poster display box is to the north of the entry doors. Flanking the storefront are side doors and four poster display boxes. 

The west (rear) elevation is painted brick with a section of concrete block at the south end. The windows in the west elevation are replacement windows with wood framing trim boards and the first floor has two side doors. The south (side) elevation is of painted concrete block while the north (side) elevation is of painted brick. 

History 

This double lot remained empty until the construction of the Ward Theater in 1937. Boxoffice Magazine reported the groundbreaking for the theater in its May 29, 1937, issue. Built for G. A. and Lee Ward, who also owned the Broadway Theatre, it had 900 seats, with 700 on the main floor and 200 in the mezzanine. The architects were Bennett and Straight, a Dearborn, Michigan, firm that specialized in movie theaters. Its gala opening was in August of 1937. It operated as an independent movie theater until the late 1980s, when it was sold to the Loek’s Theater chain. In the late 1990s the theater closed and then was sold to Grace Church, who remains the owner. 

Integrity Analysis 

The Art Deco Ward Theater utilized a popular façade material for the 1930s: porcelain enamel metal panels. Although available before the 1930s, this material became widely popular in the 1930s and coincided with the rise of the Art Deco and Moderne styles. Porcelain enamel was a relatively inexpensive material that could be easily decorated with the bright colors and geometric shapes characteristic of the style. At the Ward, the enamel panels were fastened to concrete block backings. Although the material has deteriorated over the years, in general it remains intact, although three small protrusions at the center of the roofline have been lost. The only other major alteration was the remodeling of the theater entrance and concession area. The original theater entrance had two sets of double doors; the glass panels in each set of doors formed a hexagonal shape when closed together. There was a ticket booth between the doors. This arrangement was replaced in 1971 with a new brick entry and replacement doors. 

Sources 

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (Mt. Pleasant: 1884, 1890, 1895, 1900, 1910, 1924, 1931, 1950); Mt. Pleasant City Directories, 1925-1998; Past and Present of Isabella County, 1911; City of Mt. Pleasant Building Permits; historic photographs.