Architect who specialized largely in theatre and auditorium design, becoming a leading designer in the 1920s; Crane was listed in the 1910 Detroit, Michigan City & Business Directory as having an office at 712 Ford Building; listed in R.L. Polk & Co's. Detroit, Michigan General & Business Directory for 1917 bldg at b217 Pallister av; listed in the Polk's Detroit, Michigan General & Business Directory for 1921-22 as having a residence(?) in Detroit, MI at r400 Huron bldg; worked in Detroit with Percival R. Pereira as an architectural associate in 1920-1921; Crane designed with Walker and Eisen the United Artists Theater and Office Building; Crane also designed United Artists Theatres in Chicago, IL (1921) and Detroit, MI (1928); most of his prolific theatre design work was located in Michigan, and the UA Los Angeles was his one California movie palace;

Born in Connecticut, Crane opened an architectural practice in Detroit, MI, developing a specialty in the design of movie theatres. He has been credited with designing over 200 theatres, with about 25% of them located in the Detroit metropolitan area. He was practicing in 1919 (perhaps earlier) in the Dime Bank Building, Detroit. Around 1932, Crane moved to England, but retained an office in Detroit; before World War II, Crane designed theatres in the UK; the Earl's Court Arena in London, seating 30,000, was one of his largest works there; during the war, he designed munitions plants for the British military. In 1951, he supervised studio construction for 20th Century Fox. He died at his residence in London at the age of 67.

Married Freda Heinz;

Crane had one son, Lyman Crane, who lived in 1952 in Grosse Pointe, MI; he also had two grandchildren.

Name: Crane, C Howard Birth - Death: 1952 Accession Number: 904384 Source Citation: Obituaries on File. Two volumes. Compiled by Felice Levy. New York: Facts on File, 1979.(ObitOF)