Exploring the history of Howland Theatre in Pontiac, Michigan.

Howland Theatre is a long forgotten and historic movie theatrex of Pontiac, Michigan dating back to the 19th century. This news article will explain the history of this historic movie theatre.


Howland Theatre originally operated as an opera house called Howland Opera House aka Rialto Theatre where the former Butterfield House was once located. Butterfield House preceded Howland Opera House. Howland Opera House cost $40,000 to build. The Howland Opera House was opened on March 25, 1905 with a seating capacity of 1,100 and was owned by the Kleist Family. Howland Opera House had 2 horseshoe shaped wrap-around balconies leaning over reputed state-of-the-art with "new type slanting floors” and had an 800-pound red asbestos curtain. Howland Opera House used many A. H. Andrews and Co. “opera chairs” for their audiences. (Ref: http://www.waterwinterwonderland.com/movietheaters.aspx?id=1101&Type=10)

Keyser & Coleman were the lessees and managers of Howland Theatre in 1908. The balconies held a seating capacity of up to 297 with the gallery held a seating capacity of 250. Height to the fly gallery was 22 feet in height while the theatre was on the ground floor. (Ref: https://books.google.com/books?id=n7tIAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA511&lpg=PA511&dq="howland+theatre"+pontiac&source=bl&ots=Y1dPIQw7uB&sig=ACfU3U3K4YXkAR1bEBcIJvMhRJ8wiT1xhA&hl=en)

A person named M. R. Williams was the manager of Howland Theatre in 1913. Performances of theatre plays were held on Sundays. Howland Theatre was affiliated with Aarons Assoc. Theatre from New York State. Aarons Assoc. Theatre represented Howland Theatre. (Ref: https://books.google.com/books?id=SBg7AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA321&lpg=PA321)

According to the revised edition of John Philip Sousa: American Phenomenon, Howland Theatre was a matinee in 1913. (Ref: https://books.google.com/books?id=QcabC2avFLsC&pg=PA156&lpg=PA156)

Will Rogers played there among other celebrities during the 1910s and 1920s. The Princess Players were frequenters of the theatre. Howland Opera House became the Rialto Movie Theatre in 1920 and had a seating capacity of 2,600. (Ref: http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/5288)


Rialto Movie Theatre was later renamed to Howland Theatre in 1923. The exact date of when is unknown however.

“Dear Me’’ was one of the biggest comedies ever shown at the Howland Theatre. Many patrons of the popular Howland Theatre in Pontiac had pronounced an attraction one of the Princess Players were presenting on the date of February 9, 1923, which was an optimistic comedy entitled “Dear Me’’. Which was the very best ever seen in that city during the Roaring 20s. The optimistic comedy entitled Dear Me’’ was a comedy with a most unusual idea, the story being entirely different from the usual run of plays because there was excellent comedy, funny situations and because every member of the Princess Players cast appeared in a part that seems to have been written especially for them. “Dear Me” started on Monday night and closed on Sunday night. The comedy ran all of next week. (Ref: https://digmichnews.cmich.edu/?a=d&d=OaklandOL19230209-01.1.2&srpos=2&e=-------en-10--1--txt-txIN-howland-------OaklandOL19230209%252D01--)

The Princess Players also gave a complete production of the biggest stage attraction ever seen in Pontiac called “When Knighthood Was in Flower” that following week.  That week was heralded as the biggest week of the season and was rightly termed so. This was a play which everyone saw. The Howland Theatre was crowded all week. (Ref: https://archive.btpl.org/Bloomfield-Birmingham%20Eccentric%20Newspaper/1923/February%201923/Feb%209%2C%201923%205.pdf)

Rialto Theatre was renovated in 1923. According to the December 8, 1923 issue of The Moving Picture World, renovations and improvements to Rialto Theatre cost about $10,000 which also included new furnishings, carpets, redecorated ceiling and side walls for their inventory. (Ref: The Moving Picture World, December 8, 1923)

[Renovating process has given practically new interior to Rialto Theatre, formerly the Howland, on West Pike street. Improvements which cost about $10,000 include new furnishings, carpets, redecorated ceiling and side walls; new pipe organ features; new stage setting built around screen, with appropriate draperies and curtain finished in gold and black and colored artificial flowers; new ventilating system; two new Simplex machines; operator’s booth enlarged and improved; marquee and electric sign erected. Will show only first-run pictures.”]


Howland Theatre had closed down and dissolved in 1940. Not many know this factual bit of information but Howland Opera House/Howland Theatre was used as a fur storage facility which was adjacent to Pontiac’s renowned Pike Street Restaurant for many years. 1952 was the year Howland Theatre was torn down and demolished to make way for a parking lot. Bricks from the Howland Theatre were re-claimed to built a house in Waterford, Michigan in 1953. (Ref: http://www.waterwinterwonderland.com/movietheaters.aspx?id=1101&Type=10)

There was one low building between the theater and the Hancock Iron Works building at 52 West Pike Street. This building connected to the theatre and Hancock Iron Works building. All the windows were closed up with cement blocks and painted white. A disco was operated here at one point in time. Both the low building and the theater were owned by Keyser & Coleman along with the Kleist Family. Keyser & Coleman were made owners of the low building at one point in time.

A set of four A. H. Andrews and Co. “opera chairs” was discovered during a building renovation of the low building in 2016. It is believed that these chairs may have been removed from the Howland Opera House, built in 1905, later renamed the Howland Theatre. (Ref: https://archive.org/details/HowlandTheatreProgramPontiacMichigan?view=theater)

The property site is currently a parking lot.

Howland Theatre was located at 22-24 West Pike Street, Pontiac, Michigan, US. (Ref: https://www.cinematour.com/theatres/us/MI/14.html)