The Theater The Garden Theater, located in downtown Frankfort Michigan, was built in 1923 and from all accounts has been in continuous operation since that time. Over the previous 20 years the building had fallen into great disrepair including a failed steam boiler heating system allowing for only summer operation. In June of 2008The Garden was purchased by a group of community members with the intent of renovating the building and giving life back to this Northern Michigan treasure. After a few bandages were applied during the summer months, The Garden closed for extensive renovations in October 2008. Throughout the winter and spring an incredible transformation took place and on June 18, 2009 The Garden re-opened with great fanfare. A new state of the art heating and cooling system was added, the sound updated to Dolby 5 channel digital, brand new seats from Irwin Seating in Grand Rapids were installed and the entire assembly area was restored to its original Art Deco brilliance. The Renaissance of The Garden is underway thanks to hundreds of volunteer hours, seat investors, and the incredible spirit of the local community! An army of volunteer painters took on the incredible task of replicating the many damaged Art Deco ceiling tiles. Special thank to John Vinkemulder, Peggy Hawley, Mary Armstrong, and Lynn Petti for their leadership on the project.
If you are interested in learning more about the future of The Garden or wishing to be part of the upcoming restoration projects, please register on the "contact us" page of the web site.
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The Garden will continue to show first run movies, expanding to independent films, foreign cinema and an annual film festival. Live theater and music are also part of the future once improvements are made to the existing stage.