From the depression era until it burned to the ground in the nineties, the Stone Burlesk on Woodward Avenue was Detroit's most infamous burlesque theater. In the forties, it was featured in National Geographic for being open around the clock to service factory workers with unusual hours. In the fifties, singer Johnnie Ray was arrested by the vice squad in its bathroom, a highly-publicized event which prompted a decline in his career and eventually lead to his being referenced as "Poor old Johnny Ray" in the hit song Come On Eileen by Dexy's Midnight Runners. In the eighties, photorealist painter Robert Gniewek immortalized the theater's colorful marquee on canvas before it burned down in a mysterious fire. And in the nineties, cult musician Momus sang about its owner Milton Jacobson on his album 'Stars Forever'.
Years later, Milton's grandson came upon an old trunk in his basement. Inside was a cache of original advertisements for the Stone Burlesk, a pile of saucy French postcards and other sundry items that Milton sold to his clientele. The days of old burlesque may be long gone, but the original ads for the Stone Burlesk have been lovingly restored and silk-screened into these unique works of art depicting an authentic piece of Detroit's rich and colorful history.
For more information, visit: A Night at the Stone Burlesk