The towsley society

The Towsley Society is Marquee Arts’ giving society. It was named to honor the memory of Margaret Dow Towsley, who helped save the theater from being demolished.  

The Michigan Theater, designed by Maurice Finkel, opened on January 5, 1928, with a fully functioning stage, orchestra pit, and elaborate organ, and the capability to project film. In 1979, when the Theater was threatened with demolition, Mrs. Towsley and our organists saw the need to maintain the connection with this historic building and Ann Arbor’s past through a community arts center in the central city.   

In 2014, we purchased the aging State Theatre, designed by C. Howard Crane. Community donations of over $8.5 million funded the renovation of the State Theatre and provided needed updates to the Michigan Theater. The State reopened in December of 2017. Thanks to the philanthropic efforts of Mrs. Towsley’s initial gift, the millions of dollars that have been raised since 1979, and Towsley Society members, the Michigan and State Theaters remain two of Ann Arbor’s primary downtown landmarks. Together, the Michigan & State Theaters are proud to serve as the community gathering places of downtown Ann Arbor, bringing hundreds of thousands of guests to movies, plays, concerts, talks, parties, and other events each year.  

Today, our mission is to joyfully bring diverse people together to build community, to advance understanding, public storytelling and the arts, and to protect our historic buildings. This mission, and the Towsley Society, both continue the legacy built by Margaret Towsley and her philanthropic efforts. 

Marquee Arts is a non-profit organization that relies on the generous and long-standing support of the community. Ticket sales and rentals make up only 60% of our annual budget. The other 40% must be generated through donations.  

Membership in the Towsley Society is open to the public and recognizes all individuals that have made gifts of $5,000 or more to the Theaters. Towsley Society members become part of the vital “inner circle” of current support by providing unrestricted funds for the day-to-day care, programming and operations at the Michigan and State Theaters.