The Senate opened in 1926, deteriorated substantially after its closure in the 1950s, and reopened in 1964 under the ownership and volunteer operation of the Detroit Theatre Organ Society.

WXYZ donated the organ to the Our Lady of Fatima Church in Oak Park in 1955, which was destroyed in a fire the next year.

The Senate's condition was noted as "derelict" when it was purchased by the Detroit Theater Organ Club in 1962 at a price of $1,000 (equivalent to $10,100 in 2023).

A full renovation followed, which allowed the installation of the massive Mighty Wurlitzer on the Senate's original stage.

Following a fundraising campaign, the theater reopened in May 2011 and began showing classic films in 2013 to raise additional revenue.

The organ, a Wurlitzer 4-manual/34-rank model, was built for the Fisher Theatre in Downtown Detroit in 1928, in its first incarnation as a movie palace.

[1][7] Relocating the 30-ton instrument to a warehouse took 1,100 hours of labor, and some components of the organ narrowly escaped destruction by the demolition crews.

Organ concerts and facility rentals are also key parts of the Senate's programming, and the Mighty Wurlitzer remains available for members to play outside of scheduled events.