Inaugurated in 1928, it was the 17th theater of the United Artists film studio founded by Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and D. W. Griffith. The auditorium seating 2000 was one of the few to be designed in flamboyant style known as Spanish Gothic. Although it seldom hosted live performances, it was mainly used as a cinema. Before falling into abandonment, it was used as a recording place by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1978 to 1983.