Historic State Wayne Theatre celebrates 75th anniversary
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| The new marquee at the 75-year-old State Wayne Theater was completed last week with the final lighting in place and the new lettering proudly displayed. The renovation was funded, in part, by a facade improvement grant from the Wayne Downtown Development Authority. |
The State-Wayne remains the oldest operational business in downtown Wayne. Being a part of the city history, the special anniversary and reunion party for former employees of the theater is planned for 6 p.m. Sept. 7.
“If you were a former employee of the theatre at any time over the past seven decades, I am personally inviting you to attend our reunion party,” said Phoenix Theatres State-Wayne President and owner Cory Jacobson. “I meet people every week that have the fondest memories of having worked at the State-Wayne, and as someone who grew up in the theatre business, I have a personal nostalgia for the unique family theatre working experience.
“State-Wayne is such an intimate theatre and I thought it would be a wonderful time to have this group of people reunite, catch up on their lives and see how vibrant the State-Wayne Theatre is in her 75th year,” Jacobson added.
As part of the anniversary, the State-Wayne underwent a renovation of the wrap-around marquee, one of the largest original movie signs in North America. The plexiglass sign faces were replaced with a much more durable material, a pearl white Lexan. Additionally, all the backlighting was upgraded to LED. This move will help preserve the classic look of the marquee while reducing the amount of energy needed to power the marquee, a spokesman said. The original wattage with fluorescent lamps consumed approximately 7,875 watts of electricity to operate 105 bulbs each of 75 watts. The retrofit LED wattage would reduce the usage to 1,659 watts and will save approximately $4,914.12 in annual operating expense and reduce the strain on the local electrical grid.
“The retrofit will ensure that the historic 1946 marquee is always completely lit properly and will be pristine for decades into the future” added Jacobson. “The State-Wayne marquee is the largest in length in the state of Michigan and is frequently photographed by visitors to Wayne as a regional landmark but also a national treasure to movie historians.”
The reunion party will be catered by a close friend of Phoenix Theatres, Peter Ginopolis' Ginopolis' Bar-BQ Smokehouse and will feature a private showing of the Tom Cruise summer blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick.” Former employees are invited to contact the Phoenix Theatres corporate office at (248) 478-7170 to R.S.V.P. or visit https://www.phoenixmovies.net for information on the event.
