State Theatre

Info Updates:

4/6/2021 - Andy Gray

The last vintage Kodachrome slide of the theaters built by the Johnson Construction Company is of the State Theatre in Wayne, Michigan. Albert S. Johnson Jr.'s list shows this as a 1946 project, and my grandfather (Albert S. Johnson Sr.) shot a slide two years later in June 1948.

Al's slide shows the beautiful curved entrance with three pairs of the familiar art moderne style double doors in natural color. An impressive curved marquee wraps around a corner of the building and features a vertical neon "State" sign on top.

The theater stands at 35310 W. Michigan Ave and is one of a handful of Johnson-built theaters that is still open as a luxury cinema complex with three movie screens and one live performance stage.

The Cinema Treasures website offers this history: "The State Theater was first operated by the Shafers in 1946 for Wayne Amusements...The State Wayne Theater was originally a single screen theater, later carved in[to] 4 screens, when National Amusements operated the theater... By 2012 it was operated by Phoenix Theatres and in 2015 was playing first run movies."

11/21/2016 - Cory Jacobson

We are celebrating the State-Wayne Theatre's 70th anniversary on December 29th. In honor of this very special occasion, we developed an Anniversary historical web page telling the history of the theatre and asking our patrons to submit stories and photographs from their experiences. The site can be easily found by going to our main web page at: www. phoenix movies. net and then selecting the State-Wayne location and clicking on Become Part Of Our History icon at the top of the page.

1/13/2015 - Cory Jacobson

The owner of State Wayne is officially Phoenix Theatres as of September of 2014. We have installed fully reclining seats in every auditorium, increased the picture sizes in theatres 3 & 4, and fully carpeted all the auditorium floors as of Thanksgiving Day of 2014.

10/10/2014 - Cory Jacobson

One other point is that as of September 14, 2014, Phoenix Theatres now owns the State Theatre officially. We will send over a few cool pictures too. Thanks, Cory.

10/7/2014 - Cory Jacobson

Phoenix Theatres To Add Plush Reclining Seats and Large Screens to the Iconic State Wayne Theatre The remodeled State Wayne Theatre will feature 100 percent fully reclining seats in every auditorium with the latest in digital picture and sound technology while maintaining the historic features of the classic movie house – with no price increases Phoenix Theatres announces the renovation of every auditorium in the downtown 4 screen State Wayne Theatre – the most exciting feature being the replacement of every seat in the building with large electric power leather recliners. Each auditorium will feature wall-to-wall plush carpeting, reconfigured aisle spacing to provide every guest with 6 feet of leg room, and new vastly increased digital picture sizes in every auditorium. Renovations are already underway and the full project is scheduled to be finished by mid-November – just in time for the holiday movie season. “We remain true to our mission at Phoenix Theatres of focusing our attention on making the customer experience the best we can offer, where every seat in the house is the first class section,” said Phoenix Theatres’ owner Cory Jacobson. “We are significantly upgrading our newest property, the State Wayne, and will offer plush recliners with power-lift footrests, better sightlines, in a completely new environment coupled with fully updated digital picture and sound. We are also leaving our current ticket price policy in place, providing what we hope to be the finest movie-going value anyone can find anywhere in Michigan. ” Phoenix Theatres owns and operates the theatre at The Mall of Monroe and recently purchased the State Wayne Theatre building from the City of Wayne in mid-September. It also operates the theatre at Laurel Park Place in Livonia, which will be the company’s third theatre to install plush power-reclining seats, by December 2014. “Phoenix Theatres is currently the only theatre that is not raising prices for the luxury of reclining while experiencing the latest Hollywood releases – all part of our effort to maximize customer comfort, convenience and value,” said Jacobson. The new seating design has the following features: • Loveseat pods for two, with a flip-up middle armrest and drink holders. • Power recline feature for virtually limitless relaxing positions at the touch of a button. • Designed for cozy luxurious comfort and lumbar support. “We see great promise in the other historic buildings in downtown Wayne and want to be a part of the resurgence and revival of businesses there for the long run,” Jacobson said. “We plan on keeping the history-telling mural on the exterior east wall that shows the great progress of Wayne over the years. We want to preserve that part of how the City of Wayne tells its story to visitors and young people in the community. “And without question, the classic wrap around marquee with its 1,152 lamps is the character of the theatre and one of the most unique historical marquees in the country. ” – it’s part of what drew us to Wayne in the first place,” Jacobson added. “I personally have a great love for the classic movie theatres across America and the State-Wayne is one of the finest in Michigan, a real gem right here in our own backyard. ” Phoenix Theatres was named the 2013 Business of the Year by the Wayne Chamber of Commerce. Digital Sound and 3-D Projection: State-Wayne offers Christie Digital Projectors, and Dolby’s latest 7. 1 Digital sound systems, new QSC speakers and amplification – all run from GDC computer servers and RealD XL 3-D presentations. About Phoenix Theatres: Phoenix Theatres opened its first Detroit-area theatre in 2001 and currently operates 10 screens at Laurel Park Place in Livonia, 8 screens at the Mall of Monroe in Monroe and 4 at State-Wayne. For more information, visit www. phoenixmovies. net.

8/5/2012 - Cory A. Jacobson

We are pleased to announce that Phoenix Theatres has assumed the management of the State-Wayne Theatre as of August 1, 2012. The renovation of the theatre has started and will include: cosmetic refurbishment of the facitity, Radiant point of sale systems that will allow advance and internet ticket sales with our Movietickets. com provider, all-in-one ticketing and concession sales at four new selling stations, Pepsi self-serve soda bar, in-line candy racks, new MDI high gain screens, new JBL loudspeakers, QSC surround speakers, installation of Christie digital projection, Real-D 3-D presentations, GDC cinema digital computer servers, and Dolby 7. 1 sound systems in each theatre. We will continue a first run film policy and hope to serve the Wayne area community for many years. Please check: www. phoenixmovies. net for details and show schedules.

10/29/2011 - Chris Hurley

The theater is for sale, according to the City of Wayne, which pays a management firm to operate it. Currently still operating, showing all first run films. Open seven days a week, evenings Monday through Friday, and afternoons and evenings Saturday and Sunday. Occasional midnight showings on Thursday nights for new movies as well (like the latest Twilight film opening on the 18th of November). You can't beat it. Beautiful theater, good prices, fresh popped popcorn, first run movies, ample lighted parking, in two of the theaters you can still see the black light enhanced painted dragons on the walls. I pray that if the theater is sold, the new owners would continue to operate it as a movie house! Would be a shame to lose another classic, historic theater! From the theater website (you have to go to the city of Wayne website and click on the photo of the theater, I cannot link the site in this message). Admission Prices First Run Movies Adults: before 7:30pm $3. 99, after 7:30pm $6. 99 Children and Seniors: before 7:30pm $1. 99, after 7:30pm $3. 99 Specials Monday Night Coupon, available above, buy one ticket/get one free! (There is a link to the coupon at the website. ) Tuesday is FREE Popcorn Night! Any size free with admission ticket! Thursday's are BARGAIN NIGHT! All movies before 8:00pm are $2. 99 for Adults and $1. 99 for Children & Seniors!.

5/17/2010 - Steve Bielawski

When the City of Wayne bought the State-Wayne Theatre, there was an agreement that they would not show first-run movies. The seller was National Amusements, the operators of Showcase Cinemas, and the nearest theatres were the Dearborn, the Westland, and the Quo Vadis, all of which were operated by Showcase Cinemas. All three of those theatres closed, and yet, the State-Wayne still only showed second-run movies. National Amusements did still operate the Showcase Cinemas Ann Arbor in Ypsilanti, which isn''t too near, but it is near enough that they might have worried a bit about losing audience to the State-Wayne. National Amusements recently sold the Showcase Cinemas Ann Arbor (as well as the Showcase Cinemas Flint West and 33 other theatres, leaving Michigan and at least northwestern Ohio) to Rave Motion Pictures, and at the same time as that deal was closing, the State-Wayne started showing first-run movies. I think that that is not a coincidence.

4/15/2008 - John Johnson

Just wanted to let you know that the State Theatre - Wayne is operated by the City of Wayne, Michigan.

9/6/2007 - Sean Fitzgerald

State Wayne is open. All through September 99 cent shows!!! Great theatre

9/2/2007 - Ryan

I grew up just a block away from the state. I remember walking to the movies. Before it closed it was 2 screens. On the left front corner of the building was a jewelry store. After it closed it sat dormant for years. Before the re open they added 2 more screens. The first moves to be played there after the reopen had to over 2 years old. I saw the original house of wax in black and white there. After the 2 years was up I saw a ton of second run movies there. I miss living so close to a dollar show.

1/15/2004 - Cinema Treasures

The State Wayne was first operated by the Shafers. It was just a couple of yards away from the Wayne Theatre it was meant to replace. When the city of Wayne took over the theater, they took out the 2 existing storefronts and filled them in. As part of the agreement when the city took over the State-Wayne they could not show first run movies, only sub run. The theater also has yearly plays put on.

2/23/2003 - WaterWinterWonderland

This beautiful, well-maintained theatre is owned by the city of Wayne.

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