The historic Beltonian Theatre is returning to downtown Belton next month.
"We went every Saturday. That was our big Saturday event," Welba Smith Dorsey said.
Dorsey grew up in the 1940s spending every Saturday at the Beltonian.
"I want to return there and I want to return there with my husband, with my children, with my grandchildren. Actually, I told my husband not too long ago.... that I wanted us to have a regular date night to go to the Beltonian," Dorsey added.
Now, thanks to Zechariah Baker, the Beltonian is coming back to life and those date nights can be a reality!
"I feel like the time is right to kind of give this theatre back to the community," Zechariah Baker, the owner of The Beltonian Theatre, said.
The Beltonian was built in 1930 and Baker considers the theatre's history to be a great burden.
"It's something I want to live up to, what made this theatre successful in the past... get back to the roots of the nostalgia of people growing up in the theatre," Baker added.
Under new ownership for only five weeks, the Beltonian will officially open on Nov. 3.
"We really want to get back to the roots of the theatre: a lot of classic movies, a lot of music musicals, cult movie classics, a lot of awesome events," Baker said.
"This type of entertainment venue is very encouraging, not a competitor with Grand Avenue Theatre, so it's different. It's great to see a niche that they're gonna fulfill within the area," Erin Smith, Director of Planning for the City of Belton, said.
"I don't want to change a lot about the theatre. I wanna kind of keep it the classic feel and look that it always has been," Baker added.
The Beltonian Theatre will also be serving food and local craft beer and wine.
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