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Reprint: Business Archives Section Newsletter, 1997 Entertainment and Pizza: A Winning Combination by Sharon Arend, Company Historian, Little Caesar Enterprises, Inc. The holdings of the Little Caesar and 140 audio cassettes or tapes restaurants did we have in 1970?" Enterprises, Inc. Archives are maintained in an 1800-square- Other requests require extensive document the history of four major foot facility. The major part of the research, such as compiling Detroit area institutions -- Little archives represents marketing, information on every promotional Caesars Pizza, the historic Fox promotions, public relations, product Little Caesars has offered Theatre, the Red Wings franchise services and training; since 1959. professional hockey team, and the however, some executive business Tigers professional baseball correspondence and an extensive Every effort is made to keep the franchise. video library of past television archives fresh in the minds of commercials, business speeches employees and management. Pizza and media coverage are available, Periodically, I write articles with Little Caesars was founded by as well. historic information for inclusion in Michael and Marian Ilitch, a a bi-weekly corporate newsletter. husband-wife team, who took a Active records are kept in the Photo murals have been installed neighborhood pizza restaurant and Records Center, and records throughout the corporate developed the company into one of management and the archives headquarters accompanied by the world's largest international departments work together. With information plates that highlight pizza chains. the exception of records that have important events in Little Caesars’ a predetermined disposition history. When a new executives The first Little Caesars opened on schedule, documents are not are hired, they receive information May 8, 1959 in Garden City, a destroyed without first being about the archives. The company suburb of Detroit. One of the considered for the archives. celebrates Little Caesars’ birthday prized possessions of the archives each year, and in 1995, I is a spiral notebook with the I keep things simple, and as a one- developed an extensive historical financial figures of the first week's person operation, this is a must. display to commemorate the business hand written by Marian The collection is managed on occasion. Ilitch. With her practical and logical dBase III Plus. Field definitions approach to financial concerns, correspond with the departmental The Fox Theatre Marian is still the financial wizard and subject orientation of the The decision to move Little behind the business today. Her archives. I can scan through a Caesars’ corporate headquarters abilities complement the subject or department category to downtown Detroit was prompted aggressive and creative approach and determine what is available, by an investment made by the of her husband, Michael Ilitch, the and I can also search by topic. A Ilitches in July 1987 when they marketing genius and new product printed report from the database purchased the Fox Theatre in developer. serves as an inventory of the downtown Detroit's neglected collection and as the finding aid. theatre district. The corporate archive was established in October 1989. Little The Little Caesars Enterprises, Detroit’s Fox Theatre is one of Caesars was preparing to relocate Inc. Archives is maintained for several movie palaces its corporate headquarters from internal use only. While the commissioned by William Fox of the suburbs to downtown Detroit, marketing, corporate 20th Century Fox. Built in 1927-28 and Marian Ilitch, a natural communications and legal and designed by noted theatre historian herself, was concerned departments are the most architect, C. Howard Crane, it is a that important records would be consistent users, many other splendid example of the Siamese- lost during the transition. I was departments request information Byzantine style of architecture. In hired to oversee the move and from the archives. I receive its heyday, the 5000-seat theatre manage the collections. approximately 250 internal was a venue for films, vaudeville inquiries a year. Some are simple and big band sounds. In the Six hundred-fifty cubic feet of requests, such as "When did we 1960s, it featured local talent such documents, 33,500 photographic open our 1000th Little Caesars as Motown stars, followed by images, 18,800 slides, 950 videos restaurant?" or "How many Kung-fu and horror movies in the 1 Reprint: Business Archives Section Newsletter, 1997 late 1960s and 1970s. By the display for the theatre lobby Images from the photo collection 1980s, it was rarely used and had utilizing the materials from the Fox are heavily used during the hockey fallen into serious disrepair. Theatre Collection. season for internal publications, promotional materials and external Several million dollars were spent Red Wings Hockey Team sports publications. Photographs to restore the Fox Theatre to its In 1982, the Ilitches purchased the from the collection were also used original splendor. Its re-opening on Detroit Red Wings professional in large murals, which were November 19, 1988 brought rave hockey team. At the time, the team installed in the arena in 1993. reviews, and in 1989, it was ranked near the bottom of the designated a National Landmark. National Hockey League, and Archival material is displayed in a Today, Broadway shows, concerts, season tickets were difficult to sell. custom-designed case in the family entertainment, and movie In the last fifteen years, the Ilitches arena. Memorabilia, miniature premiers are featured, and it is one have rebuilt the team and Stanley Cups, photographs and a of the top grossing theatres of its established a solid organization. game jersey worn by "Mr. Hockey", size in the country. Today, the team is ranked among Gordie Howe, may be viewed by Additionally, the Ilitches restored the most valuable in the NHL, and the fans. ESPN featured the the Fox Office Centre, adjacent to the percent of capacity attendance display during the Stanley Cup the theatre, and in December at games is the highest in the NHL. playoffs this year. 1989, it became the corporate In 1997, the team brought home headquarters of Little Caesar the Stanley Cup for the first time in Tigers Baseball Franchise Enterprises, Inc. and Olympia 42 years. Baseball has enjoyed a long Entertainment, Inc. (also an Ilitch- history in Detroit dating back to the owned company) and the In 1926, the Detroit Red Wings mid 1800s. After the American centralized location for the played their first game at the League was formed in 1901, the corporate archives. Border Arena in Windsor just Tigers became a charter member. across the river from Detroit. In Many baseball greats are The Fox Theatre Collection is 1927, the Olympia Stadium in associated with the team, including fortunate to include old press Detroit (also designed by C. Ty Cobb, Mickey Cochrane, Hank books, from the mid-1930s through Howard Crane) became the Red Greenberg, Hal Newhouser and Al the 1950s, with advertisements Wing’s home ice, where they Kaline. and articles outlining the acts and played until 1979. At that time, the movies that played at the theatre team moved to Joe Louis Arena, Ilitch purchased the Tigers and the promotional efforts and as a result, most of the franchise in 1992. As a former surrounding those performances. franchise’s archival records were player with the Tigers farm system, Some photos and posters also lost or sold. he fulfilled a life-long dream to have survived. The company owns work with the team. Faced with the original 1 928 program, printed The Red Wings Collection consists declining attendance and an on parchment, and I have primarily of ephemera that has outdated stadium, Illitch has been purchased additional old programs been donated or purchased and approved to construct a new at auctions. Old accounting publications, such as media guides stadium, which will be built across records and approximately 1738 and programs. Some player's from the Fox Theatre. linear feet of musical contracts from the 1960s and arrangements remain 1970s are also available. The Detroit Tigers Collection unprocessed. While not particularly measures approximately 235 cubic rare, these musical scores as a While most sports teams’ feet. The historical records are whole have great historical value in photographs are managed by their maintained in a storage area under the context of American, theatrical, public relations departments; the stands at the stadium. Often and musical history, as well as the however, with the exception of referred to as "The Gold Room", history of the Fox Theatre. Most current player’s photographs, the this area contains the documents scores are mimeographed, but the Illitches requested that the representing the day-to-day collection does contain a few rare collection of approximately 9000 management activities of the handwritten scores. Red Wings historical images be franchise. kept within the corporate archives. In 1996, the Theatrical Society of Photocopies of all images are The collection includes America held its annual meeting in made available to Public Relations correspondence from the 1930s Detroit, and we developed a when Walter Briggs owned the 2 Reprint: Business Archives Section Newsletter, 1997 team and extensive files of James Campbell, the front office executive for more than 40 years. In addition, all the player's contracts from 1948 to the present are available. Currently, I am bringing all historical Tiger photographs to the archives and have processed 7000 images thus far. Photocopies are made only of the most popular sports figures. Many people have supported and help build the diverse holdings of the Little Caesars Archives. The public relations departments for both sports teams and the corresponding equipment managers are my greatest sources for collecting sports memorabilia. A local television station assisted in transferring more than 200 reels of baseball films infected with vinegar syndrome to video tape. John Fetzer, owner of the Tigers from 1966-1983, and the Fetzer Institute archivist have been very generous in donating duplicate items to the archives, as well.

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