Neighbors Share Memories of the Main Art Theatre
(Crystal A. Proxmire, June 19, 2021)
Royal Oak, MI  –  As a ten year old aspiring journalist, there was nothing more exhilarating than watching Vikki Vale and Alexander Knox risking their lives and their reputations to tell a story that no one else believed. Batman was the first movie I’d ever seen in a theater, and the mystery and adventure of Gotham City was burned into my subconscious, still appearing in my dreams.  With the closure of the Main Art Theatre in Downtown Royal Oak, these memories have come back for me, as well as for untold numbers of people who found joy, learning, and love inside this place of stories, sound effects, buttered popcorn and silver screen magic.
Main Theatre first opened in 1941. Oakland County Times reported on the closure, and we dug deeper to find the real story beyond just the social media speculation as to why.  We also asked readers to share their memories.
We’ll start with Pam Murray, who is leading an effort to gather support and approach the owners of the building in hopes of saving the building.
“We bought our current house in part so we could be a closer walk to The Main,” she said.  “Last Saturday kinda hit us like a ton of bricks.”
Murray has been going to movies with her son since 2005. “I took him to see Kung Fu Hustle because I thought he would be old enough to appreciate the humor despite all the choreographed fake violence. I was right! He literally fell out of his seat laughing until tears rolled down his face. Our favorite film year was probably 2019, when we saw Parasite, The Farewell, Luce, The Lighthouse, Jojo Rabbit, The Souvenir, and Last Black Man in San Francisco, which is now our favorite film.”
Murray helped organize a Love In in front of the Main last Wednesday, which attracted over 40 people who gathered to share stories and discuss the idea of saving it.  “On our own, my son Ryne Murray and I have attended a Royal Oak DDA meeting, reached out to the city manager’s office, and used personal contacts to reach out to other indie cinema friends. We are now in communication with three indie theater veterans who have saved and operated art houses in Detroit and northern Michigan. We are forming a nonprofit, and will officially reach out to the property owners soon. Anyone who would like to join us can find us on Facebook.”  She and other supporters also plan to attend the Monday, June 21 Royal Oak Commission for the Arts Meeting at 7:30pm at Royal Oak City Hall or via Zoom.
Whatever the future holds for the building, it’s clear that Main Art Theatre will live on in the memories of movie-goers of several generations.
Judy Davids, Community Engagement Specialist for the City of Royal Oak has a place in her heart for the main. “I have fond memories of the Main Theater. As a kid growing up in Hazel Park, one of the neighborhood moms would throw all the kids on Annabelle Street in a station wagon and drop up off for Saturday matinees at the Main. I just remember it being a sea of unfettered boys and girls. It was so much fun,” she said.
As an adult it was magical as well.    “A couple of years ago I remember walking home after seeing ‘Parasite’ and saying to my husband, “Art movie houses are so rare and we can walk to one. We are so lucky.”
For Shelley Bramble, the memory is of her first date with the man she went on to marry.  They warmed up to the idea of love to The Madness of King George in 1994.  For Janet Roberts the memory is of a first outing with her future mother-in-law and future niece.  It was 1989, and the magic of Disney’s The Little Mermaid helped bring them together as family.
And a midnight showing of Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense led to true love seven years ago when Joshua Alan met his boyfriend while standing in line to get in.
Kandis Pagonas remembers The Main Art Theatre well.  “On our first date, my now husband, walked me to my car after a show. We laughed because I had a copy of Evil Dead in my car and when I drove him to his car he pulled out the copy of Army of Darkness that he had in his.
“A few months later Bruce Campbell was doing a question and answer session after a midnight show. Of course we went! Little did I know Jim had talked to Bruce earlier and set up a plan to propose to me in front of the entire theater with Bruce’s help. It was a magical moment and the whole theater cheered.”
Another thing about the Main Art Theatre was that local directors could also end up seeing their work there.
Photojournalist Mandi Wright had a memory full of pride to share.  “I was so fortunate to have my documentary film Accidental Activists: One couple’s journey to the U.S.Supreme Court about April De Boer-Rowse and Jayne DeBoer- Rowse journey to legalize same sex marriage show there. Judge Bernard Friedman rented the space and hosted all who were in the film and friends and family, had little bags of popcorn. It was a really sweet memory. I also just love that theater space. That closure is a really painful one. I have laughed and cried there!”
The Mitten Movie Project was a monthly series of locally-produced short films from 2007-2015, under the care of coordinator Connie Mangilin.
“So many great memories and so many lasting connections were born at the Mitten Movie Project and the Main Art Theatre. Cheers to the Main Art Theatre for being our home. Cheers to the filmmakers who screened their phenomenal shorts. Cheers to every single person who came out to support the local filmmakers,” she said in a statement.  “From the Mitten Movie Project and from all the filmmakers that got to see their work on the big screen… thank you so much, Main Art Theatre. We can’t put it into words the thrill of seeing and hearing our work on the big screen.”
Jeremy Olstyn had several films in the series.
“There was something really special and unique about watching the work that I made with my friends, projected to a communal audience, and getting immediate feedback. Just a bunch of people, grinding out these short films, hoping to make the cut for the next screening,” he said.
“The great Director Michel Gondry had a book a while back where he talks about all the old movie houses in Paris. Incoming business would just change the signs, but one could still clearly see what was there before… Cinemas turned into shoe stores, that sort of thing. I use to live in Berkley, Michigan, and would cringe every time I walked by the old Berkley movie theater, a beautiful facade that now fronts a Rite Aid. Clearly audience behaviors have changed, the pandemic just speeding up the inevitable. But The Main’s closure confronts the same questions yet again. What does it mean to be part of a community? How will we gather to demonstrate our communal values? How many drugstores will ever be enough? The Mitten Movie Project- and by extension The Main Art Theater- will be missed. Especially by those of those of us who found our medicine in that living community.”
Michael  Pfaendtner was a regular at Mitten Movie Project.  “There were several things that made this festival special. A favorite event was Zombie Night that was held in October. Every film had a Zombie theme to it. Each month there would be a vote for the audience favorite.
“In December Connie would then screen the winning films from each month and hand out awards. It was a source of great pride for me to be part of this elite group on two different occasions. I have many fond memories of the gatherings at the Main Art and the community that grew around Connie’s vision. I miss those days.”
Beyond the movies and film festivals, The Main had memories of fundraisers and events, including a wedding that former Mayor, now State Representative, Jim Ellison performed.  “I performed my first wedding in the lobby of the Main. The groom I think was an employee and we were short a witness, so we recruited the concessions guy. The wedding was the day after I was sworn in.”
Staffers sent in memories too, including Laura Kendall who still has her t-shirt from the Being John Malkovich screening in 1999.
Kristine Garbarino has photographic evidence of the fun.
“Me and my husband were both employees at The Main and co-hosts of The Wizard of Oz Sing-a-long midnight movie, dressed as Dorothy and the Scarecrow,” Garbarino said.  “Approximately 2009 is when this was.
“The midnight movies were so much fun for the staff and the patrons. The same crowd would end up at a lot of them so we’d make great acquaintances with the regulars. Plus, we had this amazing artist named Michael Hanion who designed posters for every single midnight movie that we played and we sold them to our patrons for $5. I wish now that I would have bought more of them.
“Who knew that a little theatre would form so many amazing connections? I’ve been married to the guy in the picture for 11 years already, and my very close friend (and manager of the Main at the time) had her first date with her future husband there. They saw The Goonies! I can’t believe it’s closed.”
The building, according to the city, is in need of major repairs, as well as equipment upgrades if it were to remain a viable theatre.  It’s also just steps away from the newer, larger Emagine Theater building which features a slew of amenities including EMax screens, luxury seating, a screening room, a party room, and 3d options.
Fenton said there are no plans in the works for the property, since the owner had been working to keep Main Art Theatre in the building until this point.  “The owners have said they are sensitive to the place Main Art Theatre has in the hearts of Royal Oakers, and whatever they do will in some way pay homage to what that corner was.”
Yet like many movie heroes, organizers have hope.
Jason Krzysiak is among those exploring ways to save the theatre.
“Generations of us have been swept away by the magic flickering on the screen at 11Mile and Main. The joys and pathos and laughter. Gathering collectively to witness our shared humanity, painted with light on the screen by our greatest artists. Entering the darkness with wonder, leaving with a smile, a tear, a thought reconsidered and a spark in our hearts. All these evenings with loved ones by our side and popcorn in our lap, sharing the moments that enrich us and tighten the bonds between us. We can not lose that,” he shared in a statement on Facebook.  “Our local cinema house faces extinction, a catastrophe that would damage irreparably the vital role the arts play in this community. We can not lose that. These are the spaces we can’t allow to simply vanish as we put the world back together.”
Whether one accepts the changing of the tides and looks forward to what new possibilities the corner could hold, or whether one aims to preserve the past, most can agree that somewhere in those spirits are the movies that have moved us, and made us who we are.
“When Hoosiers came out, I and my wife went to see it,” said Oakland County Times reader John Lindstrom. “Cindy is a native Hoosier, and she was a puddle of tears at the end.  As we went to the car, she said, ‘That’s what no one understands. Everyone says you have to have divisions and classes, but in Indiana you can try! It doesn’t matter if you’re big or little, you can try against everyone, everyone gets a chance, you can try and you might win.”
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Previous articles:
Main Art Theatre Announces Closure
Main Art Theatre Closed, But Marquee Message Was Mistaken