that old romantic feeling. Restaurants
were (and still are) places to socialize,
be seen and even to fall in love. And
nostalgia had a lot to do with it.
"Speaking of nostalgia, Detroit
once had a reputation as a city of great
legitimate theaters: the Cass, the
Shubert and the Detroit Opera
House. All were showplaces as famous
as the Fisher, Masonic Temple and the
Birmingham Theater are now.
"The Cass fell upon hard times and
converted to movies. In 1965, as the
Summit, it had its last glory hosting
wide screen Cinerama productions.
But by 1978, the Cass was converted
into a parking lot.
"The Detroit Opera House was
part of the Nederlander dynasty. Built
in 1869, the theater burned down and
was rebuilt as the Shubert-Detroit
Opera House. It ran on until 1931,
opened for movies and was closed by
the Depression. Starting in 1935, it
became Sam's Cut Rate and was
demolished in 1966. •
"In the 1940s, David Nederlander
bought the Shubert share of the
Shubert-Lafayette, which fell to the
wrecker's ball and parking lot pavers
in 1963.
"Smaller theaters met a tragic fate
as well. The Vanguard in the mid-
1960s filled a building on Elizabeth.
Concept East, a tiny coffeehouse
theater on Grand Circus Park, was
alive and well in the 1960s. The
Stables in those same years saw its
First light in a former stable on
Temple near downtown Detroit.
One faction stayed on as the eccen-
tric Unstabled and the other moved
to the basement of the Earle Hotel.
The Stables moved again to the
Wolverine Hotel where it became
the Masque Theater and soon died.
The Riviera on Grand River and
the Vest Pocket Theater further up the
street had their days of glory.
Nederlander's Riviera survived because
it had room for large musicals such as
My Fair Lady and sexy Harry
Belafonte performed there. The inti-
mate Vest Pocket thrived with Hair
and Boys in the Band from 1968-1970.
Both theaters became part of a board-
ed-up Grand River wasteland.
"Northland Playhouse ran shows
under a geodesic dome and then in
the open air with mosquitoes biting
theatergoers. A tent blew away ip a
summer storm. When managing
director Kenny Schwartz took away
the shelter, the lights attracted
insects from miles around. The geo-
desic dome was set up but the heavy
patter of rain drowned out all the

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Detroit Jewish News