The Players

The Players is a clubhouse and theatre located at 3321 East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1985 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.HistoryThe Players Club of Detroit was founded in 1910 by a group of local Detroit businessmen as an institution to encourage amateur theater. From the beginning, it was a strictly male club. For the first 15 years of the club's existence, they were forced to perform in different venues each month, including the Detroit Athletic Club, the University Club and the Twentieth Century Club.A number of the financial elite of early 20th century Detroit were members of the Players, including Henry Joy, Truman Newberry, James Couzens, and Lawrence Fisher. The club continued as a successful and popular gentleman's club until the 1970s, when membership began to drop. However, the club experienced a renaissance in the 1990s, and as of 2005 there were 174 members.ArchitectureIn 1925, Players Club member William E. Kapp designed a building to permanently house the club at a cost of $75,000. The building was two stories, elaborately decorated, and constructed of what was, at the time, a novel material: cinder blocks. The exterior of the club is designed in a Florentine Renaissance style. The roof is tile, and the façade boasts a triple round arch bay framed by a wrought iron balcony. Ten sculpted gargoyles were created by Corrado Parducci for the façade. Below the west entrance pavilion the legend "The Players" is traced in limestone.