The Wyandotte Theater was located at First Street and Elm Street in Downtown Wyandotte. It was demolished in 2007 after being vacant for several years.
History
The theater was opened with one screen in 1938, with capacity of 1,500. Not until the August 16, 1941 edition of Boxoffice Magazine was there a mention of a duplex screen in the works, as materials had been ordered from the National Theater (supply) Company.
A further Boxoffice publication, dated January 10, 1942, stated that the section known as the "Annex" opened New Years Day, 1942. The original idea was to show a double-feature in the main section, with one feature and short subjects (Laurel & Hardy, Three Stooges, etc.) in the Annex. However, this was not initially the way management worked out the arrangement. They would show the exact same pictures on both screens, but at staggered times; this way, more people could see the same two features on any given day.
A 1964 photo shows a long line waiting to the the Beatles' feature film entry into the United States, A Hard Day's Night, in the Main theater, with the Shirley MacLaine, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum and Dean Martin vehicle What A Way To Go! headlining the Annex. (Bacon Memorial District Library photo)
The Wyandotte Theater would outlast, by far, the lifespans of the Majestic and Rialto. It would briefly (and unfortunately) enter into the X-rated movie world in the mid-1970s, just as many theaters were doing. Wyandotte shed that reputation quickly and the theater would be back doing first-run movies in the 1980s. In January 1998, it had ceased showing movies all together and briefly converted into the Trillium Performing Arts facility, only for that to fail by the year 2000 due to funding opportunities having failed.
