The Michigan Theater marquee sets the building apart from other businesses located on Ludington Street in downtown Escanaba. The historic theater is being renovated by local couple Steven and Courtney Godfrey, who purchased the building after falling in love with the space. Upon opening, the theater will show movies that no longer run in modern theaters, along with offering arcade games and concessions for locals to enjoy. (Escanaba Daily Press photo)

ESCANABA — Antiques, knickknacks, and other oddities have always been of interest to Steven and Courtney Godfrey, a married couple from the Escanaba area.

While this fascination typically came in smaller sizes, like the inner-workings of a wind-up watch or the intricacies of a vintage sewing machine, the pair stumbled upon a local treasure in fall of 2018 that had been neglected for the past couple decades — the Michigan Theater.

“We love old stuff, and part of our motivation is wanting to do something new on main street. Something entertainment-wise and fun besides just bars and restaurants,” Courtney said. “There are a lot of empty buildings, so it would be nice to make use of one.”

To those who frequent Ludington Street in downtown Escanaba, the Michigan Theater, located on lots 809 and 811, seems to stick out like a sore thumb. The overhead marquee containing the red and green “Michigan” logo sets it apart from neighboring businesses, with the faint outline of an inner-city skyline on the face of the building only noticeable to those paying close attention. Despite these eccentric details, the historic building has lain dormant for over a decade, it’s condition worsening with each passing day.

Enter Steven and Courtney. While walking down Ludington Street one night in October, the two spotted a “For Sale” sign hanging from the marquee. After discussing how cool it would be if the classic theater were revitalized, offering showtimes to blockbuster hits like “Star Wars” and “Fight Club” with a full concession and arcade games to boot, the couple wondered how much the property was being sold for.

“The movie theater appealed to us because we both love movies. Almost every movie, up until Netflix and Amazon started making there own, were designed to be watched in the theater,” Steven said. “I have watched so many movies in the theater that were so great, and then I watched them at home and wondered why I liked them so much before.”

After scouting out the location a few more times, including peering through the building’s dirty windows, a phone call was made about the cost of the space. An asking price of $65,000 led the couple to schedule a showing of the building, and upon setting foot in the theater the two have not looked back.

“When we first walked through [the theater], it was pretty rough. There were dead birds laying around in here,” Steven said. “But at the same time, we both kind of fell it love with it. After that, we decided to buy it.”

Granted, the process of acquiring the building was much more difficult than simply proclaiming “We’ll take it.”

After learning the ins-and-outs of commercially zoned property, developing a business plan, establishing Old Michigan LLC, and applying for a loan, the couple became the legal owners of the building in May of 2019, seven months after they had originally set out to obtain the building.

“Originally we thought that what we paid for this building, people spend that much on vehicles all the time. So we thought this would be easy,” Steven said. “That was not the case and it was actually way more complicated than we thought it would be for commercial property.”

Renovation of the theater began as soon as the couple gained access to the space. After clocking out at their normal jobs, the Godfreys would head down to the theater several days out of the week to complete the initial clean-up process.

With help from their families, the Godfreys removed all of the trash, dead pigeons, and abandoned objects that had previously crowded the space. One of the biggest tasks was removing the fabric that lined the theater’s auditorium walls, which caused the place to smell of must.

However, the removal of the carpet led to one of the Godfrey’s favorite discoveries in the space: Art deco plaster work covering the auditorium walls.

“Finding stuff in here has been one of the best things,” Courtney said. “We had no idea that the plaster work was behind the fabric. All of the history of this building has been fun to learn too.”

The original Michigan Theatre began operating on December 2, 1930, turfing out the Strand Theatre that previously housed the location. The building was rebuilt and modernized by Delft Theatres prior to the Michigan Theatre opening, incorporating technologies that allowed films to be displayed in color and with sound.

The theater hosted showings until November 24, 1962, the last movie to hit the big screen being “Period of Adjustment” starring Jane Fonda.

Ownership and use of the building bounced around for years after the theater closed until finally settling into the Godfrey’s hands in 2019.

The couple plans to split to renovation effort into sections, tackling one section of the building before moving on to the next.

While many plans are in place, including shortening the auditorium’s stage and expanding the concession and bathroom spaces, the first task at hand is repairing the roof. From there, the Godfreys plan to get the iconic “Michigan” marquee sign up and running.

“I am really looking forward to getting the sign lit up again,” Steven said. “When people see that lit up they will really start to get excited about the theater.”

In terms of a final product, the Michigan Theater will be a “second run theater” when it opens. Rather than screening new titles, the theater will be showing films that are no longer running in modern cinemas. The Godfreys intend to show many of the classic films that came before 2010, most of which were meant to be displayed on the big screen with booming audio. These titles include, but are not limited to, “Blade Runner,” “Evil Dead,” and “Indiana Jones.”

Auditorium seating will be receiving an upgrade as well.

“We want to have couches and recliners in there too. So we will have some of the old fashioned seating and some of the newer types of seating,” Courtney said. “We would to have a couple of spots with tables and things like that.”

The Godfreys plan to convert the room directly preceding the auditorium into a retro arcade, full of coin-operated cabinets, pinball machines, and skee-ball. The Godfreys have already started collecting arcade games for the theater, current titles being “Millipede,” “Space Invaders,” “Street Fighter,” and “Rampage.” The couple hopes to get a total of 20 arcade games for the area.“That is another thing I feel like Escanaba lacks. If you have like an hour to burn … there is not much to do other than eat or go to the bar,” Steven said. “We want [the arcade] to be something you can go out and do with your friends.”

As for concessions, the renovated Michigan Theater will still offer customer favorites, with popcorn, candy, and soft drinks included. However, non-traditional theater snacks and refreshments, like pizza, chips, beer, and wine, will be offered as well.

Following their current timeline, the Godfrey’s plan to open the the Michigan Theater in 2026, although this course of action is subject to change. For those who are interested in learning more about the Godfreys, the Michigan Theater, and the renovation project, visit their website at www.theold michigan.com or follow their Facebook page @oldmichigan.

Those interested in contributing to the project efforts can purchase merchandise on the website, proceeds going directly towards the restoration and reopening process.

“Our whole goal through this process has been to take it slow and do it right,” Steven said. “We would rather take our times and turn this theater into a working part of our community.”