Southeast Michigan has been home to hundreds of movie theaters over the years. Several of them have closed their doors but some remain open, finding new ways to bring in revenue and keep the foot traffic flowing. Among those still open is the renowned Redford Theatre, which opened in 1928 in northwest Detroit.

“We really do try to create an experience here as much as we can going to the movies like you would have in the 1940s and 50s,” said John Monaghan, a film expert and volunteer at the Redford. Theater visitors can also buy merchandise related to the movies and participate in a 50/50 raffle to help keep the theater’s doors open.  

About 45 minutes west of Detroit, in Livingston County, is the Historic Howell Theater. Like the Redford Theatre, the independent movie house also opened in 1928 and features independent movies, but to help keep filling the cashbox, owner Tyler DePerro hosts other events too. 

“We’ve had concerts, improv comedy, we have church here every Sunday in this theater,” DePerro said. 

Then, there’s the Alger Theatre on Detroit’s east side. The beloved theater has sat idle for nearly four decades, but today the nonprofit Friends of the Alger is trying to give the theater new life. Friends of the Alger keeps the theater’s bills paid by renting out the theater’s marquee, which serves as a community billboard. The nonprofit hopes the theater can be revived as a community gathering space. 

“We’ve probably put, right now, into this building, which the public doesn’t really know, close to a half million dollars,” Jackie Grant of Friends of the Alger said. “It doesn’t show because you don’t see plumbing outside. You don’t see electrical.” 

One Detroit’s Chris Jordan and Bill Kubota visit some of metro Detroit’s remaining movie theaters to learn how independent cinema is surviving in the post-COVID, streaming-centric world. Plus, Jordan talks with Monaghan, DePerro and Grant about why saving these old theaters is so important, now and into the future.