The Croswell was originally designed by
Horatio Nelson White. In 1865, while the theater was still under construction, a correspondent for the
Detroit Free Press visited Adrian and gave this description:During this season, notwithstanding the high wages, cost of lumber and all building materials, there have been many fine buildings, dwellinghouses and stores erected. The first one particularly attracting attention on entering the city from the depot is “Union Hall,” a large brick structure erected and owned by a joint-stock company at a cost of $35,000. This building is located on the lower end of Maumee street, and fronts directly on it. It is one hundred and fifteen feet and ten inches deep, by sixty-four feet and four inches wide, and built of such a height that the main hall will finish thirty-two feet in the clear. The principal audience room is at some little distance from the street, and is reached through an arched passage-way, on each side of which is an elegant and commodious store. It is eighty feet in depth and sixty-three feet wide, with a gallery on three sides containing three rows of seats, calculated to seat with comfort fifteen hundred people. In the erection of the gallery a new feature is introduced, which, by means of trusses, braces and iron ties, makes it self-supporting, and entirely does away with the necessity of columns or ungainly brackets to support it. There is a large stage, 30x32 feet, which is fitted up for theatrical exhibitions, with scenery, dressing-rooms, &c. In the arrangement of the scenery, some new ideas are carried out, several of the side scenes folding up, while the principal fines, five in number, are suspended from large cylinders overhead, being hoisted and lowered by means of machinery, completely doing away with the squeaking, rattling and confusion generally attendant upon the shifting and sliding of the different pieces, and as a whole scene is raised or lowered at once, the ridiculous gap often seen in the center of an elegant painting is obviated. In the basement are the furnaces for heating the building, a large storeroom capable of containing all the seats of the hall, when it is cleared for the benefit of those tripping the “light fantastic toe,” and a large dining room, which extends the entire length of the building. The ceiling and walls are to be frescoed, and if finished according to design, will present an elegant and tasteful appearance, reflecting much credit on the designers and owners, and the city. In the erection of the structure there is no attempt at the gaudy or gorgeous, everything in and about it is plain, sold
[sic.] and substantial. It was designed by H. N. White, of Syracuse, New York, and erected under the supervision of Mr. Smith, a master-builder of this city.Writing some time later, local historian R.I. Bonner reported that the Croswell was patterned after
Wieting Hall in
Syracuse. The physical appearance of the Croswell changed several times over the course of the 19th century. A 14-foot addition was built on the front of the theater in 1882, and the stage roof was raised in 1896 to accommodate more elaborate scenery. The 1919 and 1921 renovations were directed by architect J.C. Brompton, who also designed the Riviera Theatre in
Three Rivers. In 1919, a projection booth was built onto the front of the building and a long arcade-style lobby was added; previously, patrons had to walk down a long alley from Maumee Street and wait outdoors before a show. In 1921, the original horseshoe-shaped balcony was torn out and replaced and the entire interior of the theater was redesigned. Some of the theater's distinctive features include ornate plaster detailing around the entire auditorium, two tall organ towers on either side of the stage with decorate urns built into them, and large panels on the walls reminiscent of the ones that can be seen in Brompton's RIviera Theatre. From 1921 until the 1970s, only minor changes were made to the Croswell's interior. In 1976, an addition was built on the back of the theater for a scene shop and offices. Two buildings on either side of the Croswell's front lobby were purchased in 1978 and 1979 and added to the theater, becoming space for rehearsals, offices and an art gallery. The theater was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. == Current use ==