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Keego
Harbor
The area that became
Keego
Harbor
was first named around the turn of the century by an early real estate
entrepreneur, Joseph E. Sawyer, a former
Pontiac
lawyer, who had visions of a "dream community" that would become the
working-class man's version of
Florida
's
Miami Beach
. In the
1920s, Sawyer published a book, Keep Your Eye on
Keego
Harbor
that was used to promote his community and entice prospective buyers to settle
on this land surrounded by beautiful lakes. In addition to platting the area on
the south side of
Orchard Lake
Road
into the
Keego
Harbor
subdivision, Sawyer also built
a canal from
Cass
Lake
to
Dollar
Lake
, creating a harbor.
The name, Keego, is an Indian word meaning, "big fish," and the
waters surrounding the community of Keego Harbor-Cass, Pine, Orchard,
Elizabeth
, Sylvan, and
Hammond
lakes-are full of slender Keego fish
and more. Excerpt from the Song of the Heron: Reflections on the History of
West Bloomfield
by Charles Martinez.
The
Keego Theater opened for business in 1940 to serve the residents of the resort community of
Keego
Harbor
in
West
Bloomfield
Township
.
The first
movie was The Grapes of Wrath.
The marquee was replaced in the early 1970s since it was struck
on several occasions
by passing trucks on the expanded
Orchard
Lake Road
.
On January 2, 1981, the struggling theater was sold to new
owners. This started a notable chapter in
Keego
Harbor
history. The new owners announced plans to rename the theater to the
"Keego Cinema and Love Boutique" and to show X-rated adult movies. The
City of Keego Harbor advised the new owner of the theater that this change
violated the City’s Zoning Ordinance.
On January 13, 1981, the theater’s owners filed a federal
lawsuit against the City of Keego Harbor, Police Chief William Holloway, and
Building Inspector Paul Wilmot. The lawsuit alleged that the City’s enforcement
of its Zoning Ordinance violated the theater owner’s first amendment right to
free speech and expression under the United States Constitution by prohibiting
him from showing adult movies and selling adult products.
The federal court ruled on behalf of the theater owners and
found
Keego
Harbor
’s Zoning Ordinance
unconstitutional. The case was subsequently appealed to the Court of Appeals.
The City lost its case there as well. On August 20, 1981, the Keego Harbor City
Council reluctantly voted not to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court due
to a lack of funding to carry the case further.
However, the citizens of
Keego
Harbor
were not ready to be defeated. In an expression of their first amendment right of
free speech, the citizens of
Keego
Harbor
lead by Rose
Sortor organized a group called Citizens Opposed to Pornography (COP). COP
began to picket the theater when it showed its first late night adult movie Midnight
Blues at midnight on August 27, 1981.
The theater owner did not expect the pickets to last. He did not
count on how much the citizens were willing to fight for their community. They
picketed the theater every day while the movies were shown rain or shine and in
the cold.
COP’s actions escalated on September 3, 1981, when the group
received authorization from nearby business owners to blockade their lots to
prevent theater patrons from using their parking lots. Protesters blocked
another area by parking their vehicles in disarray. When the theater owner
asked for police assistance, he was told that they could take no action unless
the parking lot owners complained about the protesters actions. Months later,
faced with a severe shortage of parking and constant picketing, the theater
owner ultimately agreed that he was beat. He agreed that he would return to
showing to general movies only if the citizens of
Keego
Harbor
would support his theater.
In February 1984, in an effort to better compete
with other movie theaters, construction was completed that split the theater from one
screen to a two-screen
theater. The Keego Theater had been showing second run movies at bargain prices for
awhile. However, as video movies became more popular, the theater saw a further
decrease in its business. More customers were lured away by the attraction of large multi-screen
movie complexes showing the latest first run movies. It was the combination of
modern multi-screen facilities, the popularity of videos, and cable television,
that would spell the end of the Keego Theater.
The
theater was purchased in 1997 by Al Mansour. Mr. Mansour continued to show
second run movies at the theater while he solicited proposals to rehabilitate or redevelop
the theater. In May 1998, it was announced that the Keego Theater and a vacant
fast food restaurant on the adjacent property were to be demolished and
replaced by a pharmacy and retail store.
The theater was closed in late June 1998, after many of the
theater’s employees left to find other jobs and the air conditioning system
failed. A
final showing was organized with the assistance of Mr. Mansour and the The final movies were
the musical classic Singin’ in the Rain and the children’s favorite Willie
Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Mr. Mansour will donate many artifacts from the
theater to the Historical.
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