Charles Howard Crane [commonly known as C. Howard Crane] was born in Hartford, Detroit, Michigan, on 15 August 1885. In 1908 he moved to Detroit. Michigan, where, in 1909, he opened an architectural practice. A prolific designer of theatres and movie palaces, he began his career converting stores into nickelodeons. Among Crane's most notable movie palaces was the Fox Theatre at 523 North Grand Avenue in Detroit, built at a cost of $6 million, which opened in 1929. He also collaborated with Paul Philippe Cret in the design of Detroit Institute of Arts (1919-27). In addition to his office in Detroit, Crane had an office in New York City and was represented in Philadelphia by Poggi & Winters.
In 1934 Crane moved to England. One of his first commissions in Britain was London's Earls Court Exhibition Hall (1935-37). At the time it was the largest reinforced concrete structure and the largest exhibition building in the world. Crane subsequently designed factories and several buildings in Europe. Following World War Two he settled permanently in London, England where he died on 14 August 1952.
‘Obituary’. The Builder vol. 183, 1952 p. 260