W. S. Butterfield Theatres

Beginning in the early 1900s, "Colonel" Walter Scott Butterfield expanded his business from one vaudeville house in Battle Creek in 1906 to 114 cinemas across Michigan in 1942.

[2] Butterfield theaters were located in small towns in Lower Michigan, as far north as Traverse City and Alpena.

Walter Scott Butterfield moved to Battle Creek in the early 20th century, having established himself in the theater business first in Columbus, Ohio, and then in Chicago, managing touring vaudeville shows.

Butterfield promoted the construction of the Henry Boyle Theater in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and from there was advised to move to West Michigan by a Pantages circuit executive.

[3] Butterfield's first theater was the Hamblin Opera House, located at 17 West Michigan Avenue in Battle Creek.

The construction of the nearby Post Theater in 1902 hurt business at the Hamblin Opera House, and Butterfield arranged to lease it in 1905.

Butterfield moved his operations in Battle Creek to a larger theatre in 1909, and the former Hamblin Opera House became a department store three years later.

The circuit hired reputable architects for its construction and renovation projects, including John Eberson and C. Howard Crane.

In the 1930s, Butterfield leased and intentionally closed Manistee's Ramsdell Theatre to retain its monopoly, to the dissatisfaction of the local press.