The girls and I went to the JOYO theater in Havelock lastnight to see The Bee Movie. It was the craziest experience! The theater is old- and I mean OLD! It is run down, seats falling apart, holes in the walls, water damage everywhere rinky dink of a place. I mean the bathroom was so run down that Corynn was afraid to go pee in it! I had to go with her and hold her above the toilet...seriously! The people who run it live above it- and the staircase leading to their living quarters in in plain view and littered with personal things like shoe boxes, magazines, coats and bookbags.
BUT- it has so much potential! It has all the original 1920's lighting, original theater seats (no cup holders- which the girls couldn't get over), original hardword auditorium floors and the old flicker reel set up for the movies. The one that starts out slow and the voices are low then when the projector warms up- it speeds up and the sound becomes normal again (about 10 minutes into the movie). Oh and did I mention it has the old time ticket booth on the outside of the building between the entrance doors- SO COOL!
I think I have found a pet project. I really want to see this theater restored and brought back to how it was in its glory days. I am seriously thinking about contacting the owners and seeing what I can do. I obviously don't have tons of money to give- but I would love to find historical preservation grants and donations to help the place. It really is a treasure that should be preserved!
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