Gem Theatre

01 / The story of this place

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Architect George D. Mason designed this 450-seat playhouse in 1927 for Detroit's Twentieth Century Club, originally known as the Little Theatre and later, after several name changes, the Gem. It served for decades as one of downtown Detroit's smaller movie houses before closing as an adult cinema in 1978. Developer Charles Forbes bought the derelict building in the 1980s and restored it to its Spanish Revival splendor by 1991. When the city needed the site for new Tigers and Lions stadiums in 1997, the entire five-million-pound Gem and Century building complex was lifted onto wheels and rolled five blocks to Madison and Brush streets, a feat that entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the heaviest building ever relocated. The Gem reopened in its new spot in 1998; Danny Jacobs served as its producing artistic director from 2000 to 2002. Today it operates as an event and wedding venue run by Forbes Hospitality.

1. Built in 1927 for Detroit's Twentieth Century Club
2. Closed as an adult movie house in 1978, restored by 1991
3. Moved five blocks on wheels in 1997, a Guinness world record
4. Danny Jacobs was producing artistic director, 2000–2002
5. Now an event and wedding venue