Crews were renovating the Capitol Theatre in Clearwater when they stumbled upon something they knew was special.
The workers were tearing out the tile in the former ladies’ restroom when the plaster behind the tile began to peel off.
"We noticed names behind it,” said Paul Mayfield, an employee of Creative Contractors who is working on the project. “So we opened up a bigger spot and realized we had something here that was a little different.”
Bill Wallace, a member of the Clearwater Historical Society, was brought in to take a look at the wall.
"When I first saw it, [the names] were all printed evenly and nice and neat,” said Wallace. “So, it had to be an original sign. And, it was amazing to see it uncovered like that."
Wallace noticed that the names appeared to be in alphabetical order and only half of them had been uncovered. Then, he noticed familiar names like McMullen and Wallace.
"My father's brother's name is on that wall," he said. "His name is Floyd R. Wallace. He was in the service in World War I."
It was a lucky find that helped Wallace determine when the wall was created and that it was made to honor World War I veterans.
"You realize the age of that wall then goes back almost a hundred years,” Wallace said.
In the early 1900s, the Capitol Theatre was a grassy area used for performances.
Jeffrey Hartzog is the director of operations for the Theatre and said his research showed that the bricks were part of the exterior wall of the newspaper building. It would have been a prominent place for war heroes to get the recognition they deserved then.
Now, Hartzog said he will work to put it in the plans for the building.
"Somehow, some way,” said Hartzog. “The difficulty also comes in because it's a structural wall. So, to remove it, which we have to do anyway, we have to do it very carefully."
There are stars next to some of the names. Wallace has a few ideas of what they might mean but he looks forward to finding out.
Captiol Theatre is slated to open in the fall.