All across America, small towns are littered with historic movie theaters that  haven’t felt the heat of a projector or the anticipation of a crowd in years. Fortunately Ely, Nev., is not one of those towns. Ely’s Central Theatre, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is still showing first-run movies seven days a week. For that, the community can thank Don and Shirley Purinton, who bought the classic brick theater on 15th Street in 2014. In doing so, they resurrected it from an uncertain fate after nearly 20 years of on-and-off operation.

“I’ve always loved movies,” Don said. “I wanted to keep it going as a community service.”  The Central Theatre showed its first film on March 29, 1941, and stands as an excellent example of pre-World War II Art Deco architecture. It was added to the National Register of Historic places in 1993. That it continues to show new films is even more remarkable, given Ely’s small population (about 4,000) and it’s remoteness. The next closest town with a functioning movie theater is 150 miles away in Delta, Utah.

“That’s wonderful and unusual nowadays,” said Richard Longstreth, an professor emeritus of American studies at George Washington University and an expert on historic theaters. “From a social and cultural standpoint, it’s an important thing. From an architectural standpoint, it’s clearly a landmark that would be welcome in any city. Lots of communities would love to have this.” Don explained that he wanted to revive the theater as a retirement project after a long career with AT&T as a technician. That experience is serving well in his new role as captain of this old cinematic ship.

Since taking ownership just over four years ago, he has installed a new screen and a modern digital projection and sound system, which is the only way to obtain first-run movies these days. He has fixed a variety of drainage problems on the roof and grounds. He also maintains the original coal-fired heating system in the building (now converted to heating oil) and is working to revive the original evaporative-cooling system — essentially a giant swamp cooler — to keep the theater comfortable in summer months. He has also reorganized all the theater seats for more legroom. The theater originally sat 745 patrons. That has been reduced to 405 in a roomier configuration.

Don also oversees the Central Theatre’s popcorn, which is some of the best you’ll find in a movie theater. In another prior career, he was a sous chef at the Mapes Hotel and Casino in Reno. Consistent service is important, he says, and that is expressed most tangibly for customers in the popcorn. “That consistency of standards is there when it comes to cooking that popcorn,” he said. Two years ago, Don and Shirley also obtained permission to sell alcoholic beverages at the theater. So in addition to popcorn, soft drinks and candy, adults can now order beer, wine and mixed drinks with their movie.

Among the unique original features of the theater is a “crying room”. It’s a separate classed-in room at the back of the theater — equipped with speakers and a large window facing the screen — where parents can take unruly children to avoid disturbing other customers without missing out on the movie themselves. The building also features a dedicated upholstery room for maintaining the seats. And the upstairs includes an apartment set aside for the lead projectionist, who actually lived in the building in the old days. Although the apartment was gutted at some point, it stands as a reminder that going to the movies was once a big feature of small town life.

The old theater still needs work, and the Purintons have a lot of projects in store. They plan to restore the path lighting along the two aisles in the theater, restore some of the seating and paint the floor. They also want to pave the gravel parking lot and get sidewalks built around the edge of the property. Much of the original neon is missing from the building’s giant Art Deco sign. Only the vertical “Central” element still glows in green and red. But Don  plans to eventually replace the neon strips that once lit up the width of the marquee. He wants the old facade to shimmer as in the old days, drawing movie fans to the stories that beckon inside. “It’s not easy maintaining an old building like this,” he said. “We enjoy providing this historic venue for movies, and we hope people will come in and experience it.”

More info:

ElyCentralTheatre.com

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