The Wapa Theater marquee shows the downtown landmark closed and the owner, Robert Wiesenmayer is open to suggestions for uses for the theater and movie house. (Staff Photo/ Kristin Staff photo/Kristin Reichardt)

Wiesenmayer, a local attorney who owns the Brown Building that houses the movie theater and the office space and apartments above, said he understands change is inevitable and is even pleased the cinema’s target audience — children and young adults younger than 16 — are choosing to participate in other, more healthy activities rather than attending movies all the time.
“It seems to me like there are plenty of events and activities for kids,” Wiesenmayer said. “They have other things they do. When school starts and the kids have their activities in the summer — I have no problem with that at all, healthy outdoor sports and soccer and football and all the other events that come along with school, and all the expanded events at the (Wapakoneta Family) YMCA — there isn’t any time left, that I see, for any kids left to go to the movies.”
The benefits a small-town theater offers is it gives local youth, who cannot drive, a place where they can find entertainment. It also helped the parents because they were near home.
“We just ended up catering to the younger people, the PG movies and the G movies, because those were the ones who still wanted to attend,” Wiesenmayer said. “They can’t be two places at once, so they’re stretched out, they have too much to do.
“Who could argue that it’s better to go play soccer and exercise and learn sportsmanship,” he said, “as opposed to going to the movies, eating popcorn and candy, drinking soda, watching a movie.”
Wiesenmayer purchased the building in 1988 to obtain the office space so he could expand his law practice, as well as restore the building — a former live theater — so it could help add vitality to the downtown area.
For the past two or three years, however, the small-town movie theater that offered a weekly feature film and prices lower than the large Regal Theater in Lima did not generate enough revenue to pay more than the manager’s salary, leaving utilities and film costs as added expenses, the owner said.
 “I kept subsidizing those things, and then when it got to the point where it couldn’t even pay for the manager and couldn’t even pay for the film delivery cost ... then it was obvious it would only be something that could be part time, wouldn’t be open through the week, and maybe wouldn’t even be open in the fall during school,” Wiesenmayer said. “I have reached the limit of how I intend to support it from other resources.
“Apparently, as a theater it can no longer survive,” he said, adding the business recently catered to fewer than 25 patrons on weekends.
The movie theater, with a cement incline floor, a stage and a balcony, seats more than 500 people.
Wiesenmayer, who recognized the inevitable of closing the theater years ago, said he has no immediate thoughts as to how to best put the space to use, he hopes members of the community will approach him with thoughts.
“If people find it would serve a new purpose or serve some other use, then, of course, they could contact me,” Wiesenmayer said, “and would have some new use for it.”
Perhaps the Wapakoneta Area Chamber of Commerce members or area organizations would be interested in renting the space in which to host seminars, he suggested, rather than using hotel conference rooms.
“Why pay for something that is serving no purpose for anybody — let’s find a new use for it,” Wiesenmayer said. “I’m waiting for some community response for how the community thinks that would serve any purpose, if at all. I guess time will tell if it will have a use.”