1946 Art Deco Movie Palace in Wayne, Michigan
35310 Michigan Avenue, Wayne, MI 48184
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Standard movie-theater pricing.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Single-story art deco theater
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1946 · 1946 art deco single-screen movie palace · Continuous operation as a movie theater since 1946
The State-Wayne Theater opened in December 1946 in the city of Wayne, Michigan, as a fireproof brick and cinder block movie palace. The building was designed in a modern art deco style with a single 1,500-seat auditorium and was built by Albert S. 'Al' Johnson's Johnson Construction Company.
Development of the theater began as early as 1940, when Walter Shafer and his family - owners of the nearby Wayne Theater - planned a new venue. The outbreak of World War II delayed construction, and the project resumed after the war ended. The theater opened in 1946 and was operated initially by the Shafer family under the Wayne Amusements identity.
Officially called The State Theater, the building was colloquially known across the Detroit metro area as the 'State Wayne,' a name that has become its operating identity. The theater has continued in operation as a movie venue and has been managed in recent years by Phoenix Theatres.
Sources
The State-Wayne's haunted reputation is the standard old-theater variety: a single-auditorium 1946 movie palace with a long operating history accumulates a layered atmosphere that staff and patrons frequently comment on. Reported phenomena collected over recent decades include footsteps in empty corridors during evening shows, the sense of fingers running down arms or the back of the neck (most often reported in the balcony area), and occasional voices interpreted as belonging to former employees or longtime patrons.
The theater has been the subject of local paranormal-investigation visits during its modern operating life. The reports are consistent with the kind of atmospheric layering that older single-screen theaters develop over many decades of continuous operation; the theater itself is well-maintained and well-lit during normal business hours.
The theater operates as a regular movie cinema, and the haunted lore is not the building's primary identity.
Catch a film at the restored 1946 art deco State-Wayne Theater. The theater operates as a Phoenix Theatres cinema and is one of the surviving movie palaces of the Detroit metro area.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Tucson, AZ
The Fox Tucson Theatre opened on April 11, 1930, as a combined vaudeville and movie house. After closing in 1974 and standing vacant for 25 years, the building was purchased in 1999 by the non-profit Fox Tucson Theatre Foundation for $250,000 and reopened in 2006 following a multi-year, multi-million-dollar restoration.
Ashland, KY
The Paramount Arts Center opened September 5, 1931 in Ashland, Kentucky as one of the first movie palaces purpose-built for sound film. Designed by Rapp and Rapp, the theater closed in 1971 and was rescued from demolition by the Greater Ashland Foundation, reopening as a performing-arts center in 1972.
Albuquerque, NM
The KiMo Theater opened on September 19, 1927 in downtown Albuquerque as a Pueblo Deco picture palace. Italian-American entrepreneur Oreste Bachechi commissioned the theater; Carl Boller of the Boller Brothers firm designed it after studying Southwestern Indigenous architectural traditions. The City of Albuquerque purchased and restored the theater in 1977, and it remains a working performance venue.