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Multiplexes / Southfield

Americana Theatre

Closed – archive entry · 1967–2001

Southfield's legendary big-screen house: it opened in 1967 with an Otto Preminger film, its 30-by-60-foot screen was one of Michigan's largest before IMAX, and it became the area's showcase for Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

Quick facts

Opened
1967
Closed
2001
Architect
Samson Associates (1967); Louis Wiltse (1972 additions)
Style
Modern
Seats
about 1,750 (original auditorium)
Screens
12

02 / The story of this place

Make time for these

Nicholas George opened the Americana on June 18, 1967, with Otto Preminger's Hurry Sundown. Designed by Samson Associates, its main auditorium held about 1,750 people, and its 30-by-60-foot screen was one of the largest in Michigan before IMAX. With 70mm projection it became a roadshow house for films like Finian's Rainbow and Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and from the late 1970s the big room was the area's showcase for Star Wars and the Indiana Jones films. Louis Wiltse added auditoriums in 1972, AMC bought the complex in 1986 and installed metal detectors after shootings in the late 1980s. A 1990 remodel carved up the great auditorium and renamed it AMC Southfield City 12. It couldn't compete with the new Star Southfield 20, closed in 2001 and was demolished.

  • Opened with Otto Preminger's Hurry Sundown
  • 30-by-60-foot screen, 70mm projection
  • Showcase for Star Wars and Indiana Jones

Plan your visit

The Americana closed in 2001 and was torn down, so you won't find it on Greenfield Road anymore. For a big-screen night, check the open cinemas in our guide.

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