Quo Vadis Entertainment Center

The Quo Vadis Entertainment Center (also known as the Quo Vadis or the Penthouse Theater) was a movie theater in Westland, Michigan. Opened in 1966, it closed in 2002 and then remained vacant until it was demolished in 2011.

Quo Vadis Entertainment Center, Westland, Michigan, 2007. The movie theater had been closed to the public since 2002.

History

The Quo Vadis Entertainment Center was the fruit of Martin and Charlie Shafer's hard work and determination to build a movie palace. The structure was designed by Minoru Yamasaki, most well known for designing the World Trade Center. The Quo Vadis Entertainment Center opened in 1966. Its outside features a very Modernistic appearance while its interior once featured a very Romanistic design. The Quo Vadis was often regarded as a Movie Palace for its plush environment and cocktail lounge. It was one of the first cinemas to offer cocktail drinks to its patrons and was well known for its "Over 21 Club" cocktail lounge on the second floor. The Quo Vadis also offered patrons of the "Over 21 Club" headphones to watch movies at the (formerly adjacent) Algiers Drive-In through a "picture window wall". The Algiers Drive-In was demolished in 1985 to make way for a shopping center. [1][2]

National Amusements purchased the property in 1986 and was still the owner as of October 2010. [3] Demolition began in March, 2011 and was completed by June 2011.

Preservation Effort

In late 2007, a group called "The Quo Vadis Preservation Foundation" was created to try to save the theater and preserve/reopen the building with a practical application.

References
  • "The Quo Vadis Preservation Foundation Homepage". Archived from the original on 2009-02-07.
  • Cinema Treasures page on the Quo Vadis
  • Quo Vadis Demolition Photos and Videos by Michael Lavander
  • Cinema Treasures Article on the effort to save the Quo Vadis
  • Water Winter Wonderland page on the Quo Vadis

The Quo Vadis Theatre

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