WAYNE, Mich. (WXYZ) — The State Wayne Theater is celebrating 80 years of serving audiences and acting as a beacon in the Wayne community.
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Located at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Newberry Street, the theater first opened in 1946. Today, owners say preserving its historic charm has helped usher in new audiences.
"I think it’s about consistency. It’s about the history of what this is," Cory Jacobson said.
Jacobson is the president of Phoenix Theatres, which took over the State Wayne Theater in 2012. The company added heated, reclining seats and a digital cinema experience to the building.
The theater originally started out as one large 1,600-seat movie theater. Wayne Mayor John Rhaesa said the city took over the shuttered theater in the 1990s and gave it a major refresh, subdividing it into four auditoriums.
"When I was a kid, this theater was dark," Rhaesa said. "This is an important piece and part of our community. It’s an icon, so we wanted to make sure that this stayed here for generations."
"They came in in the mid-90s, added the screens," Jacobson said.
What Phoenix Theatres did not change was the look of the building, preserving the original neon sign.
"We want you to drive by the theater today in 2026 and have it look exactly like it did in 1946," Jacobson said.
Audiences like Danielle Capraro and her 5-year-old son Frankie Kaminski agree with the preservation efforts.
"I like it," Capraro said. "I was born here. I grew up here. I’m happy they kept it alive."
The theater continues to draw crowds to Wayne, which Rhaesa points out adds up to customers at nearby restaurants and shops.
"This was like a second-run movie theater and now, it’s a destination place again," Rhaesa said. "They’re getting over 100,000 people a year coming into the city, which is great."
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