Seventy-five years ago: In June 1948, Ann Arbor theaters were in transition. The Majestic Theater (“The Maj”) on Maynard St. was demolished to be replaced by a parking lot (which was enlarged into the Maynard parking structure in 1955). The Majestic opened in 1909 in a building that had previously been a roller rink.
The 1,900-plus seat theater was originally a live drama venue but later became a vaudeville house with appearances by such stars as Cary Grant (in a stilt-walking act), Buster Keaton, and the Marx Brothers. Movies began to be shown in the mid-1910s. The marquee was the first large electric sign in Ann Arbor, and folks drove from miles around to see it glow.
In other theater news that month, the Ypsi-Ann Drive-In had just opened at a cost of $100,000, and it was already so popular that it was drawing 600 to 700 cars nightly, causing traffic concerns for Washtenaw Ave. (see Then & Now). It was the first drive-in in the area, but in time it would be joined by the University (at Ellsworth and Carpenter) and the Scio (on Jackson Rd. just west of Staebler). The Scio became infamous in its later years for showing X-rated movies that, thanks to the angle of the screen, were visible from certain surrounding roads, including I–94. The Ypsi-Ann was the first drive-in theater to close, in 1978. The Scio and the University survived into the 1980s.
