Back wall of the empty Lyceum Theatre reduced to rubble during storm
WINGHAM – The back wall of the Lyceum Theatre was reduced to rubble during the storm that rolled through the area on Friday night, marking the end of the century-old building, which seems now beyond repair.
According to Cinema Treasures, a website dedicated to preserving the memories of old theatres, the Lyceum Theatre was opened in the 1920s. It was a hub of entertainment, modernized when sound was installed in the early 1930s, under the operation of Captain Adams. Later, his son Alton Adams took over, continuing the legacy. It was a place of innovation, operated by W.T. ‘Doc’ Cruickshank, who not only ran the town radio station but also set up and operated the town T.V. station in 1955, bringing the world into the small town of Wingham.
In the 1970s, Nelson Frank and John Schedler purchased the Lyceum Theatre. For nine years, the Lyceum Theatre hosted the annual Wingham Film Festival. It played first-run movies and was last operated by Ward Robertson.
The Lyceum Theatre was closed around 2005.
Cory Bilyea, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Wingham Advance Times
