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Avon Township, the site of the first settlement in Oakland County, was organized in 1835. This white clapboard building was erected in 1880 as the township hall. The Rochester Era reported on July 1, 1880: "The Town Board have bot [sic] a lot upon which to build a Town Hall on the corner of Fourth and Pine streets - a splendid location."Local building contractor John Ross won the contract for the new hall. The Rochester Era reported as follows on July 29, 1880:[begin quote]The contract for building a Town Hall on the corner of Fourth and Pine streets in this village, has been let to John Ross &amp; Co., resident builders, for $1,500, and ground for the foundation of the same was broken yesterday (Wednesday). The structure is to be a frame one, 30x70 feet in dimensions and two stories high, with slate roof. The main hall will extend to the roof, while the offices will occupy two stories, there being two below and one above. The upper one will be used as a Justice Court-room. The whole is to be completed and ready for occupancy by the first of October next.[end quote]An update on August 12 noted: "The foundation for the Town Hall is about ready for the carpenters, who will push the work right along, as they necessarily must in order to finish up by the first of October as the contract requires." On August 26, the newspaper reported that the frame had been raised.A few years after it was built, the township hall became a temporary school. When the old Avon District #5 schoolhouse at Fourth &amp; Wilcox was destroyed by an arson fire in August 1888, the school board needed to make arrangements for classes to be held for the 1888-89 school year while a new building was under construction. High school classes were held in the township hall, while primary grades met in the Adventist church. The Rochester Era reported as follows on August 31, 1888: "The work of preparing the Town Hall for the use of the High School commenced last Monday. The platform was removed, seating put in, Black boards made and other necessary work performed. The Adventist Church has also been secured for the primary department at a rental of $10 a month, so that the schools will duly commence on time."The building's alterations reflect the area's industrial and commercial growth. Initially constructed as a single-story building, the hall was enlarged by raising the roof eight feet and adding a second story in 1933. The work was done by welfare labor, to provide jobs to local residents affected by the Great Depression. The Rochester Era described the project as follows on October 6, 1933:[begin quote]Work on the town hall improvements are progressing finely. The building, 30x70 feet was built in the late '70s [sic], under the direction of the late Enos R. Matthews, supervisor. The land was bought for $275. there was but one building on the plot of over an acre and that was on the northeast corner occupied by the late Mrs. Laura Spencer and her son, the Doctor. It was later for a number of years the home of the late Harvey J. Taylor and family. It is now owned and occupied by Richard Dunn. It was proposed to buy the land for a park, the price being $1,250, but the proposition was killed by the town board, headed by Mr. Matthews, on account of the "exorbitant price." The building cost less than $2,000 and with the exception of a storeroom upstairs in the rear and an office in the rear was a shell for floor to the roof.A short time after the Rochester Savings Bank closed a proposition was made to the township board to take over the building, which was admirably adapted for business and welfare work, and it was offered them at a nominal rent. In view of the fact that the old town hall was "passe," the proposition was accepted, and for the past two years has been occupied by the township. It developing that the new bank would need other quarters, it was decided to make drastic changes to the old town hall and occupy it. Accordingly, the efficient town board, consisting of Supervisor Gibbs, Clerk Mrs. Frances O. Covert and Justice L. L. Whims, C. W. Terry got busy and plans were formulated to make the building thoroughly up to the minute and work is progressing amazingly. The front room is being divided and there will be offices on the ground floor with a hall overhead. Steam heat will be installed, and a complete set of bank vaults. The work is expected to be completed by November 1. The crowning feature of the work is the smoke stack for the boiler in the rear of the building, built by Howard Cowell, and expert mason and brick layer. The stack is 40 feet high and six ft. at base and tapering to three feet. He is a "chip off the old block." His father, Frank Cowell, who twenty or more years ago was the leading mason of Rochester, succeeding his father, the late Dan Cowell. Frank has been living in Muskegon for many years, while Howard occupies the old Henry Wilson property in District No. 10, Avon.[end quote]On November 17, the Era reported that the remodeling was nearly complete and that the building would be occupied on November 23. The article said, in part:[begin quote]At the north entrance a large staircase is built, leading to a large community room, 30x60 feet which can be used for any community purpose. This affords the largest and most convenient hall Rochester has had for many years. It is well lighted, finished in ivory tints, and has a fine dancing floor, with kitchenette and a cloakroom at the rear. Voting booths will be installed in the basement with separate entrance, and to the south of it, there is a spacious room for the storing of vegetables from the welfare gardens. Already 2,000 bushels of potatoes are stored there. The exterior of the building is greatly improved with paint. The main entrance has been changed from Fourth street to Pine street and an artistic stone chimney 40 feet high and 6 feet square adds much to the general appearance of the hall. With the exception of the supervising, all work on the building has been done by welfare labor. Supervisor O. P. Gibbs is planning to have the township offices moved from the stone house on Main street Nov. 23.[end quote]In 1962 a north wing was also constructed. Avon Township Hall is one of the few public structures built prior to 1900 that still stands in Oakland County. The building was used as the Avon Township Hall until 1980. In 1982, the Paint Creek Center for the Arts was established there.The building was listed on the Michigan Register of Historic Places on March 28, 1979, and received a Michigan Historical Marker in 1980.

The Avon Township Hall (now Paint Creek Center for the Arts) was built in 1880 to serve as Avon Township's seat of government and is one of the few such nineteenth-century public buildings still extant in Oakland County.  The two-story, frame building was used as a township hall for 100 years, and was also the site of public meetings, lectures, entertainments and religious services. Originally built as a one-story structure, it was modified during the Great Depression, when the entrances were moved and a second story was raised. In 1980, Avon Township (now the City of Rochester Hills) built a new township hall on West Avon Road, and this building became the home of the Paint Creek Center for the Arts. The building was listed on the Michigan Register of Historic Sites in 1979.

Avon Township Hall, south and east elevations, 1978

Avon Township Hall

This tour visits the buildings that once housed Rochester's entertainment venues. The Avon Township Hall was an early location of social events, until Palmer's Palace Rink opened on Main Street in 1885. Soon after came the Rochester Opera House, which hosted a wide variety of vaudeville acts, local productions, concerts, and lectures. The turn of the twentieth century saw movies on Main Street, first at the St. James Casino and then at the Idle Hour and Avon theaters. Rochester's last downtown venue was the Hills Theatre, which operated from 1941 to 1984.

Rochester merchant Louis E. Palmer broke ground in November 1884 for a roller skating rink on the south half of Lot 49 of the Original Plat of the Village of Rochester; today, the original rink building has been partitioned into three sections comprising the street addresses of 409, 411 and 413 S. Main.Roller skating was a popular craze during the mid-1880s when Louis Palmer decided to open his rink on Main Street. By this time, mass-production of skates made them readily available to the general public. The Rochester Era announced Palmer's plan on November 20, 1884, with this item:"L.E. Palmer has broken ground for a brick skating rink on Main st. adjoining his new store on the north [his new store was the building at 405-407 S. Main, which he had built in 1883]. The skating floor will be 45x110 ft. in the clear, with truss-roof, so that nothing will interfere with the skaters. In addition there will be an office and spectators gallery 15x50 ft. and a barber shop of the same dimensions."The completed rink was named "Palmer's Palace Rink" and was described in the Rochester Era issue of February 13, 1885, as follows:"Palmer has christened his new roller rink, "Palmer's Palace Rink" and it is certainly worthy of the name. It has a clear skating surface of 45x100 ft., with one of the best floors in the State, the high ceilings and walls nicely kalsamined [i.e. kalsomine: a whitewash type of paint] in colors, and all its arrangements complete, including office, cloak room and gallery."The article went on to comment on the construction of the building:"Mr. C.O. Chipman, who has done much of the planning not only of this rink, but has superintended all the work upon it is entitled to lots of credit for the neat and substantial manner in which he has accomplished his task." (Cyrus O. Chipman was a local carpenter and a grandson of Dr. Cyrus Chipman, a pioneer settler of Rochester and Revolutionary War soldier.)The same newspaper issue noted in another item that the grand opening of the rink would feature the eighteen-piece Rochester Cornet Band.In addition to roller skating, Palmer's Palace Rink offered dances and vaudeville-type entertainment. It hosted large social gatherings, as the village did not yet have a theatre or opera house.In 1886, Palmer partitioned the southeast corner of the rink into a separate store for his jewelry business (later known as 409 S. Main). The newspaper reported:"Workmen are engaged in building a room off from the Palace Rink on the southeast corner, to be used as a jeweler shop by Palmer. On the corner now occupied by Palmer, another room will be built to be used as a barber shop by John Hartwell. Although these to [sic] rooms will be taken off from the rink, there will still be left plenty of room for all practical purposes."In 1887, another store was partitioned off the front of the rink, presumably the northeast corner, to make a second barber shop. The Era reported on May 27, 1887:"A room is being fitted up in the front part of the rink for Harry Wiley, as a barber shop, alongside John Hartwell's."By 1890, Sanborn maps indicate that the front section of the rink, along the Main Street side, had been partitioned into the three stores we know today as 409, 411 and 413 S. Main, and the remainder of the rink building, to the rear, was being used as a dance and recreation hall. By 1919, Sanborn maps indicate that the rear portion of the rink building was gone, with only the front portion remaining, divided into three storefronts, while an ice house and other outbuildings had been erected on the back of the lot.Businesses that have occupied the southeast corner of the rink building at 409 S. Main include Louis Palmer's Jewelry Store in 1886, Carpenter's Men's Wear in the 1920s, the Purity Liquid Malt Co. in 1932, the L.C. Scott Appliance Store in 1936, the Pauline Palmer Jewelry Store in the 1950s (daughter of Louis E. Palmer), Lamoreaux Jewelry Store in the late 1950s, and from 1961 until 2017, the building was occupied by Heller's Jewelry. Heller's closed at the end of 2017 and in 2018, the building became the home of the Bizzy Buzz Artisan Market.The portion of the rink building known today as 411 S. Main appears to have been the barber shop referred to in the newspaper account as John Hartwell's barber shop. A barber pole can be seen in early photos of the building. Later, 411 S. Main was occupied around 1900 by George Axford's store, by Miller's Bakery in the 1920s and 1930s, by L.C. Scott's Appliance Store in the 1930s and 1940s, by Rochester Refrigeration and Clarence's Appliances in the 1950s and early1960s, and by Symar Locksmiths from the late 1960s to the early 1990s. In 2012 the building was occupied by the Spy Shop.Businesses that have occupied the northeast portion of the building at 413 S. Main include: the Arnold &amp; Schultz meat market around 1900, the LeBlond &amp; Tietz Butcher Shop in 1915, Stackhouse Brothers meats in the 1920s and 1930s, Fred S. Palmer Jewelry and Optometry in the 1950s, and Marvin Weisman Optometry from the late 1950s to the late 1980s.

This three-store, single-story business block was originally built in 1884 as Palmer's Palace Rink, an ice skating rink and social hall that adjoined Palmer's business block that stood immediately to the south. Palmer built the rink in response to a roller-skating craze that was sweeping the nation at the time, but it was also used for a variety of other social events, including dances, vaudeville shows, plays, and political rallies because Rochester had no theatre or opera house at the time.  As the roller-skating fad began to die out, Palmer transitioned his rink to a block of three storefronts, as it appears today.

Palmer's Palace Rink Block

James W. Smith, proprietor of the St. James Hotel on the southwest corner of Main and University Drive (formerly Fifth St.), built this building to house his Idle Hour Theatre in 1913. Smith opened the New Idle Hour Theatre under the management of Oscar Price in February, 1914. The Era told its readers that the new moving picture house was "of white brick with steel ceiling and sidewalls, concrete floors, asbestos operating booth, perfect ventilation, steam heat, and ... absolutely fireproof." It was described as seating 400 patrons, and boasting an 18-foot stage with a depth of 16 feet, suitable for live performances as well as film screenings. The premiere of the new house offered a live performance by the Rochester Comedy Company, entitled True Irish Hearts. The following year, Edward J. Cole took over the Idle Hour and ran it for eight years. In 1923, Charles L. Sterns took over management of the theatre. In 1936, Sterns remodeled it with a modern, Art Deco face and renamed it the Avon Theatre. The Avon was Rochester's only movie theatre until 1942, when Sterns opened the Hills Theatre across the street. The larger Hills became the town's first-run house, and the Avon presented second-run titles and serials. After the Avon Theatre closed in the early 1950s, the building housed a series of businesses, including Oberg Electric, the National Bank of Rochester, Michigan Chandelier, the Varsity Shop, and Whoo-U-R Upscale Resale, among others. On May 5, 1955, the Rochester Clarion reported:[begin quote]Remodeling of the old Avon Theatre on Main Street began last week. The building was purchased two weeks ago by Harold Oberg. Present remodeling plans call for leveling off a large portion of the theatre floor and modernization of the building front from the marquee down. Mr. and Mrs. Oberg tentatively plan to move their store into the one-time movie house when the remodeling is complete.[end quote]A week later, during remodeling, a steel beam across the front of the building gave way and the Art Deco front collapsed onto the sidewalk.

This building was constructed in 1913 to house James Wilson Smith's Idle Hour Theatre, which was previously located across the street in the Smith/Crissman building. The theatre moved into its new quarters in February 1914.  Under new ownership in 1936, the business was renamed the Avon Theatre, and an Art Deco glass front was added to the building during a remodel.  The Avon Theatre operated until the early 1950s, when an electrical supply company moved into the building.  It has since housed a variety of businesses, but is most notable as the former home of Rochester's first successful movie theatre.

Idle Hour Theatre

James Wilson Smith, owner of the St. James Hotel on the southwest corner of Main and University (formerly Fifth St.) broke ground for this two-story brick business block opposite his hotel in August 1901. Detroit architects Spier &amp; Rohns, who had recently built the Detroit Sugar Company factory in Rochester, were the designers of the building, and James S. Stackhouse of Rochester was the contractor. Frederick H. Spier (1855-1931) and William C. Rohns (1856-1951) were especially noted as the designers of railroad stations, and drew the designs for the Michigan Central Railroad depots in Ann Arbor and Niles, Michigan, the Union Depot in Lansing, and the Union Station in Durand, Michigan. They were also the architects of the Detroit Sugar Company mill at Rochester. The building was expanded in 1904, as noted in the Rochester Era edition of February 19, 1904:"J. W. Smith will build a brick addition to his block at the north end [sic; it was actually the south end], which will be occupied as a meat market." Progress on the addition was noted by the newspaper on June 10: "The gravel roof has been placed on the new Smith block, the hardwood floor laid on the first story and the work of finishing off for Korff &amp; DeBaene's new market is rapidly progressing. Mr. Smith has made a proposition to finish off the second story into a first class auditorium, reception, cloak and property rooms, etc., and the matter is being favorably considered by the different secret societies of Rochester." The North End Cafe and Edwin A. Hudson grocery were early tenants of the new building; it also housed James W. Smith's Idle Hour Theatre before he built a new structure for it adjacent to his hotel. The most well-known occupant of the building was the Crissman Pharmacy, which occupied the building from about 1925 until 1966. The pharmacy featured a soda fountain that was a popular meeting place in town for decades. Lewis C. Crissman, a 1910 graduate of Ferris Institute (now Ferris State University), established the drug store that carried his name in 1913, when he bought out Luel H. Smith's Central Drug Store.The Smith store was located at 329 S. Main, just south of where the Chase Bank stands in 2014. Around 1915, Crissman moved his pharmacy across the street to 438 S. Main, in what was then known as the J. W. Smith block. When Lewis Crissman decided to retire from the pharmacy he passed the baton to the next generation, son J. Kenneth Crissman, who like his father, had earned a pharmacy degree from Ferris. Kenneth Crissman operated the drug store until 1966, when he sold the business to Joseph Pinkerton. On May 20, 1992, the northern two-thirds of the building were completely destroyed by a devastating gas explosion from an unknown gas line in the area. The Crissman family, owners of the building, immediately rebuilt the destroyed portion in complete sympathy with the original design, including the ornamental stepped-out brickwork on the west elevation. As it currently stands, the southern portion of the building (bearing the address 436 S. Main) is the addition to the original structure built in 1904; the northern portion (bearing the addresses 438-440 S. Main) is the reconstructed portion built in 1992-93.

The James Wilson Smith/Crissman Block was built in 1901 and 1904 by Rochester hotelman James Wilson Smith, whose Hotel St. James stood on the southwest corner of Main and Fifth (now University Drive). Smith was a prominent Rochester businessman who used his new building to expand his enterprises.  In addition to the hotel, he operated the Idle Hour Theatre, Rochester's first moving picture venue.  Eventually, the building passed into the ownership of the Crissman family, and was well-known as the home of the Crissman Pharmacy until 1966. The northern two-thirds of the building was destroyed in a 1992 explosion and was rebuilt in 1992-93.

James Wilson Smith/Crissman Block

Charles L. Sterns began construction of this theatre building in May 1941 and opened it in January 1942 with a screening of Look Who's Laughing, featuring Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy.A story in the Rochester Era issue of April 25, 1941, announcing the new theater project, read as follows:[begin quote]Keeping in step with the rapid development of Rochester and vicinity, Charles Sterns, owner of Rochester's Avon theater on Thursday broke ground for a new theater of modern type, which will have a seating capacity of 900. The theater is to be located on a lot on Main street between Fourth and Fifth streets, formerly occupied as a sales lot by the Larry Jerome Ford agency. The building is to have a 62 1/2 feet frontage and 150 feet depth and to be built of enamel tile and brick on each side of the main entrance; two stores are included. Several business offices comprise the second floor front. The plans call for a spacious lobby, rest rooms, powder rooms and offices. Mr. Sterns states he expects the theater to be finished by September 1. The contractor is Carl VandenBergh of Rochester.[end quote]The architects of the Hills Theatre building were partners Lavern R. Bennett and Eugene D. Straight of Dearborn. Bennett &amp; Straight specialized in theatre design and were also the architects of the Main Theatre in Royal Oak, the Bloomfield Theatre in Birmingham, the Allen Park cinemas, and the La Parisien Theatre in Garden City, among others. Carl VandenBerghe was the general contractor for the project.An announcement of the grand opening in the Rochester Clarion of January 8, 1942, read in part as follows:[begin quote]Hills theatre, deriving its name from Rochester's slogan "The Heart of the Hills," represents the latest in modern theatre design and decorating. The walls and ceiling are of neuwood which assures the best of acoustics in all parts of the theatre. The wood trim throughout the theatre is of light birch wood. Fluorescent light tubes of various colors line the walls on either side of the theatre. Indirect lighting will light up the foyer and lobby which have been decorated in rich tones of blue and pink....The seating capacity of the new theatre is 820, spaced to afford comfort and ease in passing into the seats. The seats are of maroon plush upholstery. The overdrapes around the proscenium of the theatre stage are of maroon velvet....The theatre front and box office is constructed of vitrolite, a color-glass material, with new sign, lighting and marque arrangement of most original and effective design.[end quote]Bowing to pressure from nearby multi-screen theatre complexes in the area and the advent of cable television, the theatre closed its doors for good on January 15, 1984. In November of that year, the Rochester City Council granted a tax abatement to a development company with plans to redevelop the building as retail space. It was thereafter known as the Main Street Plaza.

The Hills Theatre building was constructed in 1941 and opened to the public in January 1942. The building was originally of Art Deco design, and featured a vitrolite glass front and triangular electric marquee.  It was the design work of Michigan architects Bennett & Straight, who were well-known for their movie palace work.  The Hills Theatre was downtown Rochester's only movie venue after the older Avon Theatre, located across the street, closed in the early 1950s.  The Hills bowed to pressure from multi-screen chain theatres and closed in 1984. The building was repurposed as retail space, but the "coming events" showcases may still be seen on the front elevation.

Hills Theatre Building

Built in 1890 by Charles A. Burr, the Opera House Block opened with the First National Bank and Norton Pharmacy on its ground floor. On November 7, 1890, a grand opening dance launched the upper-level opera house as Rochester's social and cultural center. Until 1933 plays, movies, lectures, dances, vaudeville shows, reunions, commencements--even boxing matches--filled the calendar, but never an opera. Rochester's correspondent to the Utica Sentinel newspaper described the new opera house this way in the issue of November 15, 1890:"C.A. Burr's new opera house is now complete. A fine outfit of scenery is being added which was purchased of Schlosman &amp; Handis, Chicago. Mr. Barber, Frank Tucker's advance agent, says it is the finest lot he ever saw. The house is arranged to suit five hundred people, the seats all being of comfortable chairs. The new and complete opera house will be opened by Frank Tucker's Comedy Company, on Friday and Saturday nights this week, Nov. 14 and 15. On Friday night they will play "The Divorce," a pleasing and funny comedy, and on Saturday night "The Two Orphans." The fact that a new opera house is to be opened in Rochester, and that by as popular a company as Tucker's ought to ensure a full audience for two nights." John T. Norton was the first drug store proprietor in the building, and his store was followed by the pharmacies of Albert E. Stanley, Zeno Schoolcraft, T. Kenneth Fetters, Richard J. Morley, and Robert A. Lytle. Charles A. Burr was one of eight sons of German immigrants Louis and Eliza Gendrick Burr, who came to America in 1850 and soon thereafter settled in Sterling Township in Macomb County. Charles Burr was truly a "man of all trades" and had a varied career that followed several occupational paths. He started out as a school teacher, traveled to California in 1876 to mine gold for three years, then returned to the Utica area to run a hardware business. He brought his hardware business to Rochester in 1882 and also served as the town postmaster for a time. Among the other businesses he engaged in while in Rochester were undertaking, men's clothing, real estate, and fire insurance; he also served as an agent for the local express company. In August 1893, the Rochester Era reported that Charles A. Burr had been appointed postmaster of Rochester, succeeding Theo Dahlmann, and intended to move the post office from its location in the Hacker Block (where it had been since 1890) to the Opera House. The newspaper reported as follows:[begin quote]C. A. Burr was appointed postmaster of Rochester, vice Theodor Dahlmann, last Saturday, and will take possession in a short time. Mr. Dahlmann has made an excellent official - efficient, painstaking and methodical - and has made a record that any man may well be proud of. Mr. Burr will remove the office to the rear of the opera house block.[end quote] On September 29, 1893, the Era reported further as follows: "C. A. Burr has received his post office credentials and will take possession as soon as the new quarters are ready. A window and a single door have been cut through the north side of the building." Charles A. Burr was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1857, and reared on his family's farm near Utica. He had a varied career that included roles as a schoolteacher, hardware merchant, undertaker, furniture dealer, U.S. postmaster, and banker. He was one of the founders of the State Savings Bank of Rochester. According to a Rochester Clarion photo item in the July 18, 1957 issue, the one-story-plus basement addition to the rear (east) end of the building which provided an entrance to the drug store off Fourth Street was built in 1957. In 1987 this Richardsonian-style landmark, with its sixteen-foot ceilings and stained-glass windows, was restored by owner Robert A. Lytle. The building was listed on the Michigan Register of Historic Sites in 1990 and features a Michigan Historical Marker on the north wall.

The Rochester Opera House block is a  Richardsonian-style business block built in 1890 by local businessman Charles A. Burr. The first floor of the building has housed a pharmacy continuously since the building opened.  The second floor of the building housed the Rochester Opera House, a space devoted to theatrical performances, concerts, public meetings, graduation ceremonies, and lectures. The Opera House block is significant as a local example of Richardsonian architecture, and for its connection to Rochester's social and commercial history.  The building underwent exterior restoration in 1987-89 and was listed on the Michigan Register of Historic Sites in 1990.

Where We Played: Historical Entertainment Venues of Rochester, Michigan