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Source: Jim Fahlstedt
The RKO Regent was the second and lesser of the two RKO theaters in downtown Grand Rapids. Since is was very close to the Grand Rapids Police Department, I often attended shows there and then went to meet my father at his office. Because the Regent was the secondary house, it kept most of its adornment and was less modernized over the years. It did suffer the indignity of spending most of its later years running double features of horror flicks.
The ballroom on the top floor became Regent lanes. This bowling alley was very well known when it was being maintained as a top notch establishment. Thurmon Gibson rolled a record high triplicate at this place in the late 40s. That record stood for over 20 years. Again, this fine old movie house fell to urban renewal. Incidentally, the projection booth pictures show it early on before the more modern arc lamps were installed.