Theatre returns lost wallet 65 years later
Owner Chris Escobar called it an "incredible
By Joshua Skinner
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ATLANTA (WANF) — For more than 80 years, the Plaza Theatre has churned out reliable entertainment, complete with popcorn, soda, and, of course, movies.
But it was during a November bathroom renovation that owner Chris Escobar discovered a different kind of story.
“Once we started taking off the old tile, we discovered a little piece of the wall fell out here in this corner,” Escobar said, showing where the discovery was initially made. “And then we see this space behind the wall that no one knew was there.”
That space was a small closet attached to what used to be a manager’s office, now a separate bathroom.
“That’s when we discovered this incredible, little historic find,” Escobar said.
An item buried under brick and dust.
“If you follow my shadow,” Escobar said, pointing to the far corner of the small closet. “It was back here under this pipe.”
That little bit of history: a wallet from 1958, likely lost and stored in the manager’s office but never claimed by the owner.
“I mean, this is a treasure trove of 1958,” Escobar said.
Complete with credit cards for Davison’s and Rich’s Department Stores, family photos, gas receipts (10 gallons for $3.26), and a name: Floy Culbreth. But could Floy possibly be located 65 years later?
Escobar enlisted his wife, who he calls an “internet sleuth” for the task. Within hours, Escobar had his answer.
“Floy Culbreth was actually started as Floy Porter,” said Thea Chamberlain.
Chamberlain is Culbreth’s daughter. The Escobars were to reach the family using social media. To their giddy surprise, Chamberlain lives less than 20 minutes from the theatre.
What’s less of a surprise was learning her mother lost her wallet in the late summer of 1958.
“To be honest, mother losing stuff would not have been a surprise,” Chamberlain laughed.
Floy died over a decade ago. The Escobars and Chamberlains scheduled a gathering at the Plaza Theatre to exchange the wallet and pour through its contents.
Escobar can’t be sure what film was showing at the Plaza that day (the theatre was just one screen at the time). However, newspapers from the summer of 1958 show 1956 Best Picture Winner “Around the World in 80 Days” playing at the Plaza.
For Chamberlain, seeing receipts, library cards, and family photos she didn’t know existed brought her to the emotional edge.
“It’s meant more to me than I realized it would,” she said.
Adding another story for a theatre with a bit of history on the screen and in the walls.
“Yeah, this theatre still has a number of stories to tell,” Escobar said. “It still surprises us.”
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