A beautifully restored 1928 movie palace in the heart of downtown, designed by Maurice Finkel in a lavish mix of French Renaissance and Classical Revival styles. The Michigan Theater serves as Ann Arbor's main venue for independent and art-house films, as well as live concerts, lectures, and special events. The interior is stunning — ornate plasterwork, a grand chandelier, and a functioning Barton pipe organ that is still played before select screenings.
The theater operates as a nonprofit and screens a thoughtful mix of first-run independent films, classics, and repertory series. It also hosts the Ann Arbor Film Festival each March, one of the oldest experimental film festivals in North America. Even if nothing on the schedule grabs you, the building alone is worth a visit.