SOUTH LYON, Mich. (WXYZ) — The South Lyon Theatre has been a community gathering place for more than 75 years. Now, it is moving beyond movies and finding new ways to keep its doors open.
Watch Christiana Ford's video report:
The historic theater, which first opened as The Lyon in 1945, nearly closed permanently in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic before its owners decided to reinvent the space rather than sell it.
Cindy Kivell, a longtime theater patron, said she has many memories from years of visits.
"How they displayed the movies was by old movie reels, and we used to get a real kick out of it because right at the crucial time in the movie, the reel would die," Kivell said.
Kivell said the theater has always meant something to the community.
"I'm grateful that they still have the marquee up," Kivell said. "It's a nice community feel."
Owner Debra Neil said the shift in how people consume entertainment made it difficult to keep a single-screen theater running.
"People feel they're gonna sit home and stream more than maybe go out as much to the movie, and the movie business in general for a single-screen theater is kinda difficult. You want all the different choices for the movies and all the different times," Neil said.
After closing and nearly selling the property, Neil applied for a COVID grant and chose to transform the theater into an event space. The concession stand was swapped for a bar, many of the movie chairs were removed, formal dining was added, and a new marquee was installed.
Since 2023, the venue has hosted weddings, showers, celebrations of life, dance practices, fundraisers, and a weekly church service.
Neil said word spread quickly once events began.
"As soon as one person had an event here, their 30 guests knew about it, and it just got the ball rolling, just - even from referrals of the community," Neil said.
The theater is now expanding into public events, including live music and the return of classic movies, recently supported by the local Downtown Development Authority as a push to get more people downtown.
Neil said the response to classic movie screenings has been emotional for many longtime residents.
"People that came to the classic movie and the regular movies were so grateful to come back to their town because this has been around for more than 75 years, and a lot of locals here, they missed the movie theater, and they grew up with it, and to see a classic movie it really meant a lot to them," Neil said.
The theater is currently pursuing a liquor license as part of its continued evolution.
"So that we can have like a comedy night here or a musician or something or maybe we can make it an evening event too," Neil said.
They're hopeful the South Lyon Theatre can remain a part of the community for another 75 years.
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