Hilberry Theatre

This structure was completed in 1917 for the First Church of Christ, Scientist. Field, Hinchman and Smith—predecessor to the architectural firm of Smith, Hinchman and Grylls—designed it in a Classical Roman Ionic style. In 1961 Wayne State University acquired the building and converted the auditorium into an open stage theater. Named after the president of the university, Clarence B. Hilberry, the theater was created to house a graduate repertory company, which opened its first season in 1964.