According to a description in The NewsVirginian shortly after the theater opened, “the side walls are paneled in shaded tones with a decorative plaster border in a color scheme of ivory, old rose and blue.” When it opened, the theater was segregated, with a separate entrance for Black moviegoers on the side of the theater and a section of the balcony partitioned off for their use. The Wayne Theatre was founded and managed by a trio of young Waynesboro men: Francis R. Loth, Carl C. Loth and Max Patterson. Patterson was a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, served in World War I and was commandant of cadets at Fishburn Military School. The Loth brothers were sons of the founder of the Waynesboro Stove Company; Carl had served in World War I and Francis had also attended the Virginia Military Institute. Before founding the Wayne, they ran the Star Theatre, located at 544 West Main Street, from its opening in 1922 until it closed around 1926. The three men would later open the Cavalier Theatre at 216 Main Street in 1930.
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Fishersville resident Bill Loth grew up going to the Waynesboro movies in the 1940s and 1950s, although he confesses to having preferred the westerns that were shown at the Cavalier to the fancier movies at the Wayne. He remembers that his father, Francis R. Loth, had a workshop behind the Wayne Theatre where he spent many long hours fixing things that had broken in either of the two theaters. “My father could make anything out of wood,” Loth recalls. Once his father crafted a miniature Conestoga wagon to advertise a Roy Rogers and Gene Autry western at the theater. “He had me and a friend driving all over town in that wagon to advertise the show.” Loth also remembers riding his bike to the Wayne Theatre from his family’s home on Pine Street and stopping at the theater snack bar to grab a treat before a movie. He recalls that you could get a Coke and a popcorn for 15 cents, or a double dip of chocolate ice cream for a dime at what was known as Number Nine. (It was called Number Nine because that was the phone number of the snack bar, in an era when there were very few telephones in Waynesboro.)
In 1964, the Wayne Theatre was sold out of the Loth family. A fire gutted the theater in 1980, and it reopened with two movie screens. After struggling to compete with other entertainment, the theater closed in 1999, and the property was deeded to the City of Waynesboro. The following year, a group of volunteers created a nonprofit organization and embarked on a years-long process to restore the theater and bring live entertainment back to downtown Waynesboro. The Wayne Theatre reopened to the public in March 2016. It now offers a variety of live theater, entertainment, movies and educational programming throughout the year. The Waynesboro Heritage Museum, located at 420 West Main Street in Waynesboro, is gathering stories, photos and memorabilia for an is exhibit about the history of the Wayne Theatre, to open this summer. Visit their website at waynesboroheritagefoundation.com for details. The Wayne Theatre is located at 521 West Main Street in Waynesboro. A full schedule of events is available on their website at waynetheatre.org. <
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