If the walls of the Four Star Theatre could talk, they’d tell stories of movie premieres, disco balls, drug busts, gospel sermons, and DIY punk shows.
Built in 1938, the once-grand movie house on South Division Avenue was a neighborhood icon for decades before falling into disrepair. Today, it's at the heart of a community revival, and it's talking again — through music, art, and storytelling.
On Friday, May 2, the Four Star will host “Unfiltered Gen2 Live: You Can’t Make This S**t Up,” the second edition of a live storytelling event featuring five storytellers sharing raw, personal narratives. Award-winning broadcast journalist
Shelley Irwin, host and producer of NPR/PBS WGVU's “The Shelley Irwin Show,” will be the emcee.
Doors open at 5:59 p.m. with food trucks, drinks, and noisemakers encouraged. Proceeds from the event will support the nonprofit group that runs the theater. Donations can be made at
fourstargr.com/donate.
“Hosting our Gen2 event at Four Star just made sense and seemed like a natural fit to me and our Unfiltered team, and without hesitation, Marcus Rignalda, the theater owner, enthusiastically agreed to host it,” says Unfiltered founder and coordinator Raul Alvarez. “I appreciate what Marcus is doing in the 49507 community and have had the opportunity to work with him and support his efforts whenever I can, so I’m excited to collaborate with him on May 2.”
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Photo by Shandra MartinezThe view from the second floor of the Four Star Theatre has a big top feel.
Reviving a neighborhood hub
It’s just one of dozens of creative events hosted at the space each year. The revival is being led by Ringnalda, a construction consultant and historic preservationist who purchased the building in 2017. In 2019, he formed the Friends of Four Star, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to save the iconic building and restore it as a multi-use cultural arts venue with a community focus.
In addition to leading the Friends of Four Star as a volunteer, Marcus works as an independent consultant, doing business as Ringleader Construction Consulting. It specializes in owner’s representation for nonprofit and affordable housing projects, a background that informs his approach to restoring this rare neighborhood landmark.
“The first time I walked through the building in 2014, it just struck me,” Ringnalda says. “You can say, ‘the theater next to Popeyes,’ and people still can’t picture it. But from my perspective, it was a hidden gem. What an incredible building.”
Built to seat 925 patrons, the Four Star opened in November 1938. A local newspaper described its interior as “Swedish moderne,” a sleek, streamlined style popular in Depression-era architecture. While the original seating is gone, elements of that era can still be seen in the detailed plasterwork of the lobby. Ringnalda’s nonprofit restored those elements with the help of a $100,000 Lowe’s Hometowns grant in 2023.
In the decades following its closure as a theater in 1979, the building evolved through various identities. It has been the Great Northern Music Hall, a notorious nightclub, a youth center, and a church.
During its time as the Great Northern Music Hall, it reportedly was used as a front to launder cocaine money in the early 1980s and was called by one source “the house that cocaine built.” It was shut down by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in 1982, Ringnalda said.
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Photo by Shandra MartinezThe stage of the Four Star Theatre has featured movie premieres, disco balls, drug busts, gospel sermons, and DIY punk shows.
A center for creativity
Still, the bones of the building remained solid. Ringnalda reimagined the space not as a museum piece, but as a dynamic, multi-use venue grounded in accessibility and creativity.
“We’re not trying to restore this to how it was in 1939,” he says. “We’re preserving what makes it unique while creating something that works for today’s community. You’re not going to rent out DeVos Place to try something new, but here, you can get a few friends together, promote it well, and people will show up.”
That philosophy has drawn a growing following. The venue now hosts six to eight events a month, ranging from salsa nights and film screenings to punk festivals, community meetings, corporate gatherings, variety shows, and electronic music events.
“This place attracts the kind of events that don’t fit into traditional venues,” Ringnalda says. “It’s where creativity flourishes. Before ideas hit the mainstream, they’re born in spaces like this.”
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Photo by Shandra MartinezOnce a movie house and nightclub, Grand Rapids' Four Star Theatre now hosts storytelling, music, and grassroots events year-round.
One of the venue’s most memorable events involved a Black country music night curated by Monroe O’Bryant, an artist and driver for
The Rapids whose route runs through the neighborhood and who lives in the neighborhood.
Promotion of the event led to a Detroit-area farmer volunteering to bring his well-trained horse to the event. It walked around the theater, providing photo ops.
“After two hours, he said the horse needed to stretch its legs, so it’s out there, galloping down South Division,” says Ringnalda. “That’s the kind of magic that happens here.”
Phase two of the theater’s renovation is underway, including a new HVAC system. It will culminate this year with the restoration of the original marquee, which will be 40 feet wide and 16 feet tall with modern updates including LED screens. The project is supported by grants from the Michigan Arts and Culture Council, Kent County’s Covid stimulus funds, City of Grand Rapids façade and brownfield funding and private donations.
Ringnalda's long-term vision includes building a green room for performers and installing ADA-accessible bathrooms and entrances. He estimates the total renovation cost at around $5 million. He set that financial goal in 2019 and it is unchanged, even as construction costs have soared elsewhere.
“We might be the only project that hasn’t changed its budget post-pandemic,” he says, crediting community support and skilled tradespeople who donate time and materials.
The venue is still evolving, but for many artists and neighbors, it’s already become a cornerstone.
“This place is a creative chalkboard,” Ringnalda says. “If you can dream it, we’ll help you make it happen.”