Quo Vadis Entertainment Center (movie theater)

The Quo Vadis Entertainment Center (also known as the Quo Vadis or the Penthouse Theater) is a now-shuttered movie theater in Westland, Michigan. It has remained closed to the public since its closure in 2002, with the parking lot occasionally rented out to a carnival or Christmas tree vendors.

History

The Quo Vadis Entertainment Center is the fruit of Martin and Charlie Shafer's hard work and determination to build a movie palace. The structure was designed by Minoru Yamasaki. 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. [http://cinematreasures.org/theater/5153/] [http://www.waterwinterwonderland.com/location.asp?ID=1227&type=5]

Closure, Present and Future

It was owned by National Amusements from 1986 until it was sold to a big-box fitness center in 2008. [http://cinematreasures.org/theater/2609/]
Lake Bellaire Properties has been contracted to develop a fitness center on the land. [http://observer-eccentric.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080124/NEWS24/801240544/1041/NEWS24]

Preservation Effort

In late 2007, a group called "The Quo Vadis Entertainment Center Preservation Foundation" (also known as "the Quo Vadis Preservation Foundation", for short) founded by Don W. Gurka & Zachery S. Gizicki, was created to try to save the theater and preserve/reopen the building with a practical application. The Westland Observer and Livonia Observer featured front page articles on the preservation of the Quo Vadis. [http://www.hometownlife.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080207/NEWS10/802070495/1027/rss18]

External links

* [http://www.savetheqv.org The Quo Vadis Entertainment Center Preservation Foundation Homepage]
* [http://cinematreasures.org/theater/2609/ Cinema Treasures page on the Quo Vadis]
* [http://cinematreasures.org/news/17712_0_1_0_C/ Cinema Treasures Article on the effort to save the Quo Vadis]
* [http://www.waterwinterwonderland.com/location.asp?ID=1227&type=5 Water Winter Wonderland page on the Quo Vadis]