Shortly after World War II, three Dearborn brothers bought a vacant
parcel to build a drive-in theater. Local groups opposed them, fearing
such a place would elicit immoral behavior. But the Clark family
persevered to see its movie palace become a Metro Detroit mainstay,
hosting celebrities, rock stars and a never-ending line of families with
kids in footie pajamas. A handshake transferred ownership to movie
magnate Charles Shafer and his business partner, Bill Clark, who
expanded the theater to a massive nine screens. But blockbusters and
hordes of teens couldn't mitigate the effects of Detroit's decline, auto
company bankruptcies and Michigan's economic malaise. Despite it all,
the mighty Ford-Wyoming kept the movies showing, bringing a bit of
Hollywood glamour to the gritty Motor City.