DETROIT – The Michigan Theatre, one of Detroit’s once-beloved movie palaces, has been a parking garage since 1977, and according to the Detroit Free Press, “the city, in a public nuisance lawsuit, is asking a judge to order the owner… to fix multiple property violations.”

The theater is largely intact, “with its ornate plaster hovering over vehicles,” and it “has faced dozens of blight violations between May 2005 and May 2024, according to the lawsuit filed in Wayne County Circuit Court” according to the article, which notes that the city of “Detroit alleges that Dennis Kefallinos, owner of Bagley Acquisition Corp. and the building at 220 Bagley Ave., faced a plethora of violations: 23 for failing to obtain a certificate of compliance; eight for failing to report on the integrity of the exterior walls and roof structure; 20 for sign restrictions; five for neglecting to abate unsafe or unlawful property conditions, and two for neglecting to comply with an emergency notice of imminent danger issued May 30 this year, according to the lawsuit.”

The paper said Kefallinos could not be reached for comment, the article adding that “the city asserts that the building has become dangerous to the public, citing emergency corrective orders and affidavits from city building inspectors. An inspector issued an emergency corrective order on April 11 after receiving public complaints that debris from the outside of the building was falling onto sidewalks” which was ignored. “A second corrective order was issued May 9 requiring the landlord meet previous demands,” and “the city issued a third emergency order on May 17 due to ‘continued danger to the public and non-compliance’ with the prior orders.”

“If the owners do not comply, we will ask the court to declare the building a dangerous public nuisance and that the court order it to be at least partially demolished to protect public safety,” city Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett said in a statement. “We understand the historic significance of the building and would work with the Historic Preservation Commission. We hope it does not come to that and plans can be devised to save as much of the history as possible while keeping the public safe.”

(Material from the Detroit Free Press was used in this report)