John H. Kunsky

John H. Kunsky (1875–1952) was a Detroit area businessman who made his fortune by investing in movie theaters. He later became partners with George W. Trendle and invested in radio.

Movie theaters

Kunsky had been an early investor in Nickelodeons beginning in 1905. During the first decade of the 20th century, small vaudeville style theaters were used for stage and film. The Bijou was one of several small nickelodeon theater owned by Kunsky. Kunsky made a lot of money operating these small theaters, but decided it was time for something bigger.

John Kunsky hired architect C. Howard Crane to design the first true movie house in Detroit. The Columbia opened in 1911 and could seat over 1000. It contained a pipe organ and had facilities for its own orchestra. This was only the second large movie house in the United States.

The Strand with nearly 1400 seats and the Alhambra, with about 1475 seats were designed by C. Howard Crane, and both opened in 1915. The Adams Theater was built in 1917.