Historic movie palaces / East Jefferson / Jefferson-Chalmers
Cinderella Theatre
Closed – archive entry · 1924–1975
White terra cotta and red tile: the Cinderella's Spanish Colonial front drew East Jefferson crowds from 1924 to the mid-1970s. After Disney's 1950 Cinderella, its side walls were painted with scenes from the film.
Quick facts
- Opened
- 1924
- Closed
- 1975
- Architect
- Christian W. Brandt
- Style
- Spanish Colonial
- Seats
- 1897
02 / The story of this place
Make time for these
Built for J.N. Robinson, the Cinderella opened on January 13, 1924, with Strangers of the Night on screen plus dancer Vera Sabina and four vaudeville acts on stage. Christian W. Brandt gave it a white terra-cotta Spanish Colonial front with red tile roofing, and with 1,897 seats it was one of the larger east-side neighborhood houses. After Disney's 1950 Cinderella, its side walls were painted with scenes from the film. United Detroit Theatres bought and modernized it in 1953; its Wurlitzer organ came out in 1966 and is preserved at the Music House Museum near Traverse City. The theatre closed in the mid-1970s and was razed a few years later.
- White terra-cotta front, red tile roof
- Cinderella scenes painted on its walls
- Its Wurlitzer lives on at the Music House Museum
Plan your visit
The Cinderella was razed a few years after it closed. Its organ survives, though, preserved at the Music House Museum near Traverse City.
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