The Historic Wayne Theatre
November 2005
A lot has happened since the last newsletter came out of the Wayne Theatre. A few years have gone by and a new board of directors has taken over from the old. No one who was on the old board of directors is connected to the theatre any more. The new board of directors, consisting of mostly of the kids who use to be the monsters in the haunted house, has taken the theatre closer to the final goal.
We are now doing business as "The Wayne Theatre Corporation" which has been added to our original name "The Palace Theatre Company". This will give us a little more recognition in the community. The public will better be able to connect "The Historic Wayne Theatre" with "The Wayne Theatre Corporation".
The new board of directors, with the help of new volunteers, has already taken down the old haunted house, removing the wooden floor that use to cover the main seating area of the theatre and taken down the cement block wall the used to separate the main floor from the stage. Right now you can stand on the sloping cement floor where the theatre seats would be and look directly at the back stage area. You can see the wonderful painting on the ceiling around where the lights would be. You can also get a good view of the balcony where most of the seats that were donated from the Quo Vadis theatre are stored.
The roof has been repaired to prevent water from ruining any more of the wonderful plasterwork inside the theatre. The fence along Michigan Avenue that almost fell down in 2005 has been repaired and is once again secure. We managed to get one of the old projectors up into the projection booth and got it running again with a lot of help of Bob Hudson, a gentleman who worked for Mr. Schafer for many years at various theaters in the area. The sound isn’t working yet but Bob managed to show a short piece of film on the screen before the bulb burned out.
The area that was used as a lobby in the past is now where we have set up half of the haunted house. The other half of the haunted house is on the flat cement floor under the balcony area on the back ten feet or so of the main floor. We held a haunted house last year in October 2004 that raised the money needed for the roof and fence repair. We also did one this year during the month of October. These have been the only fundraising events that have been done since 2000 that raised any significant amount of money for the restoration of the theatre.
The city of Wayne city council and the Wayne Fire Department have allowed us to hold these fundraisers at the theatre but they have also told us they will not let us run another until we have a fire suppression system over that area of the haunted house. We are going to get some quotes for that this winter so we can be ready for installation in the spring. Some people have told us it might cost much more than money to install the fire suppression than we can afford right now. The big problem is that we HAVE to do it. We MUST put in the fire suppression system so that we can continue to raise money with the haunted house each year. Without the haunted house money it will be impossible to reach our goal of opening the theatre to the public for events.
Our long term goal is to open this building as a performing arts theatre, as it was originally intended to be some 80 years ago. We can in-vision plays on the stage, working with the schools in the area to hold events, showing vintage movie marathons, having concerts of local, regional and national acts and opening up the theatre for corporate seminars and talks. In short, we want this theatre to be an active part of the community of Wayne and one of the central points for entertainment in this region. If we can reach these goals, having the annual haunted house in the theatre to raise money would be history. We have been thinking that maybe in the future when the theatre is open for other things, we could have a building in front where we could set up a permanent haunted house as a sideline.
Our specific needs for the immediate future are:
We need volunteer electricians to asses the current and future need for electric power in the theatre. We could use someone to make sure the changes we have made so far are in compliance with local codes and to plan, with the help of our board, any future electrical changes.
We need someone experienced in fire suppression systems installation to help us meet the requirements of the Wayne Fire Department for a fire suppression system over the haunted house area. Without the fire suppression system we will not be able to continue with our haunted house fund raising efforts.
We need someone experienced in heating and cooling systems to determine our needs for heating and air conditioning the theatre and to help us plan the installation of such a unit.
We need some help in getting and installing new fire exit doors for a couple of places in the building. The last estimate we got for installing one fire exit door was over $3000 for one door. We need someone who can help procuring a door and help to get it installed without having to spend so much money.
We could use some expert help with replacing some concrete blocks and bricks on the building, especially on the front of the theatre.
We also have an area where the lobby doors used to be that leaks water onto the floor near the concession booth. We could use some expert help in stopping that leak.
The stairs at the front of the theatre are falling apart. We could use help in replacing the metal that is rusting away and the concrete that is part of the stair treads. The stairs were designed to be inside the lobby that is no longer there. The stairs have been subject to the elements for twenty years and it has seen better days. The stairs leak at lot. Fortunately what’s under the stairs is concrete and marble on the stairs that lead to the original men’s room. They are holding up well but there is some damage there also and it’s getting worse.
If you have ever considered donating to the theatre, now is the time. We are on the brink of closing for good. We can’t continue without the fire suppression system and if it cost more money than we were able to get from the haunted house this year, then, we are effective done. We need your help and the help of everyone you know to keep us alive.
If we can continue, we hope to put out this newsletter every quarter. We don’t know yet if we can meet the schedule, but if we have things to report, we’ll put it out.