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Source: Cinema Treasures
The Royal opened in late 1940, one of Detroit's larger neighborhood houses, located on Seven Mile Road. It was designed by Charles N. Agree, and could seat close to 2500. Built in Streamline Moderne style, the Royal was duplicated (by half its size) a half year later, in Agree's Dearborn Theatre in Dearborn. The Royal contained a small stage, but no dressing rooms or orchestra pit. Its oval-shaped lobby housed four groups of sculpture by Thomas di Lorenzo, who previously collaborated with Agree on the Harper (1939), now Harpo's.
Operated jointly by Wisper and Wetsman and United Detroit Theatres, the Royal cost nearly $300,000 to erect, and its early ads hailed it as having one of the biggest parking lots in the country, with room for over 800 cars. The Royal had a relatively short career, however, closing in the late 60s. In 1969, the property was sold to Grace Hospital, and the theater demolished.