Wakefield Theater

dallasmovietheaters on June 7, 2022 at 8:19 am

The Theater at the Wakefield Memorial Building launched on April 5, 1923 with a live play, “The Glorious Girl.” The venue may be best remembered for a variety of community events. But for nearly 50 years, the venue was also very well known for commercial, first-run movie presentations through a variety of subleasing agreements over the years. In its silent era, the venue became known as the Memorial Community Theatre. In 1929/1930, the Wakefield Community Theatre installed sound to remain viable.

The Strand in downtown Wakefield would close as Alex L. “Pick” Picker Improved audio and projection at the Memorial Building which led to a grand re-opening under its new name as the Wakefield Theater on October 16, 1932. A 1948 makeover brought new seating to the venue. On October 15, 1954, the Wakefield celebrated its first use of its widescreen equipment to present CinemaScope titles beginning with “The Robe.”

Peter J. Napel ran the theatre from 1951 to 1970. He was not only instrumental in its transition to widescreen but was also a major factor in the building’s final attempt to remain viable. In 1965, the building received a major overhaul when an entry was added to the building’s left side with the interior space converted to a 21-unit hotel called the Wakefield Motor Lodge. The movie house was then renamed as the Wakefield Motor Lodge Theater. If each motel room had 50 guests in it per night, the small town theater could accommodate all of the guests as the balcony stayed in use until the theater’s discontinuation still having a capacity of 1,200. Most impressive for a town with fewer than 3,000 residents.

The WML Theatre may have closed for regular film screenings in 1978 as ads are discontinued at that time; although there were still live events at the venue for a brief time thereafter. Those events run under the Wakefield Theatre nameplate. The entire property then went into disuse and disrepair as attempts to revive the venue were dashed as the theater suffered a partial roof collapse. The City of Wakefield wrote for permission to raze the landmark which was approved for demolition in 2010 ending any glimmer of hope for a renovation.

Also known as Theater at Wakefield Memorial Building; Wakefield Community Theatre; and the Wakefield Motor Lodge Theatre.