Ann Arbor is fortunate to have a grand old movie palace in the form of the Michigan Theater to enjoy. What is perhaps less obvious from the street are the locations of the other movie theaters that used to be sprinkled around town.

Back in the day before VHS tapes made it possible to watch movies at home, the movie theater meant a lot more to people; it was a way to share a cultural phenomenon. The rise of the Internet, movies on demand and easy ordering of any copy of almost anything you want via Netflix has meant that the special cultural capital that used to be a mainstay of any city has dwindled. But it's worth remembering long lost movie theaters - where they were in our neighborhoods and what they meant to us at their height of popularity.

South University used to have the Campus Theater. It was an off-campus destination in the days when that part of town styled itself as "The Village" and had a variety of destinations. The theater was demolished in the 1980s, and in its place is The Galleria, a shopping mall. At one point you could get your movie fix in that mall by going to Tower Records upstairs, which had an extensive video selection. All of those are gone now, but you can still play pinball in the basement in Pinball Pete's.

Central Campus was once full of student film societies, showing movies in venues like Angell Hall Auditorium A, the Modern Languages Building, and the Natural Science Auditorium. A date night in the 1980s would give you a choice of lecture halls to go see entertainment. The evolution of entertainment choices that allowed students to watch films on VHS, Laserdisc, or DVD in their own dorm room or apartment brought about the demise of the film society, but a number of those groups live on in the form of campus film series sponsored by groups like the Center for Japanese Studies.

The State Street area is still home to two movie theaters, the 1928 Michigan Theater on Liberty Street and the 1942 State Theater.

The Michigan was almost demolished to build a parking garage in the late 1970s, but city preservationists got then-Mayor Louis Belcher to convince a reluctant City Council to purchase the theater in 1979.

The State Theater survived only in part, with its lower level turned into what is now Urban Outfitters and the upper level split into two awkward but functional theaters with the seats in what was the balcony.

Time was not so kind to other State Street area theaters, all of which were demolished in the years up to and after World World II. The Majestic, on Maynard Street, was built in an old roller rink; it closed in 1942 and was subsequently torn down. The site now is the location of the Maynard Street parking structure.

Fifth Avenue was the home of the Fifth Forum, built in 1966 by Roger and Kenneth Robinson who also owned the Scio and Ypsi-Ann Drive-Ins. It was later divided and renamed the Ann Arbor 1 and 2. The building still stands; it was purchased during the dot-com era and turned into the home of an Internet startup, Web Elite; the structure now houses The Fifth Quarter nightclub.

The theaters on South Main Street aged gracefully. The Wuerth and the Orpheum, next to each other on the 300 block of South Main, were turned into retail and restaurant space; they now house the Gratzi and The Chop House. Plaques on the side of the street mark the historic preservation efforts that led to largely intact preservation of the facades.

On West Washington Street, nothing is there to mark the riots of 1908 which saw students creating havoc at the Star Theater. "A mob of about one thousand students worked into a frenzy by an assault on one of their number by a special house policeman stormed the Star Theater here last night," wrote the San Jose Evening News of March 18, 1908 from wire reports. "Chief of Police Apfel, at the head of the entire force, reinforced by a squad of special deputies, made several attempts to break up the mob and save the playhouse from destruction, but each time their attack was broken up and they were forced to retreat." The site now is the home of Arbor Brewing Co.

The outskirts of Ann Arbor were home to drive-ins. The Scio, on Jackson Road just west of Staebler Road, was the most notorious of these; in its last era of the 1970s, it showed adult films that were visible from I-94. The Scio was built on the grounds of Young Airfield, an airstrip built just after World War II as the Washtenaw Airport. At some point between 1976 and 1980 this airport closed, and there are now light industrial buildings where the landing strips used to be.

Edward Vielmetti writes the Our Neighborhoods column for AnnArbor.com .