In 1863 Charles M. Croswell, Michigan governor from 1877 to 1881, formed an association to construct a new theater. An 1866 bird’s-eye view of Adrian shows the completed exterior. Originally designated Adrian Union Hall, it was called Croswell Opera House by 1887. The theater hosted performers including Maude Adams, Edwin Booth, Mrs. Patrick Campbell, Charles Frohman, Victor Herbert and the Gilmore Band, Joe Jefferson, Thomas W. Kean, James Whitcomb Riley, Otis Skinner, and John Philip Sousa. In 1921 the building’s interior was renovated to show motion pictures. In 1967 the Adrian Foundation rescued the building from threatened demolition, and its care was entrusted to the new Croswell Opera House and Fine Arts Association.