LEHIGHTON, Pa. — The lights inside the old Mahoning Valley Cinema at the Carbon Plaza Mall near Lehighton are back on, and renovations are happening inside.
A company called FunTime Cinemas Incorporated bought the building and plans to start showing movies this spring.
"Oh, I think it's fantastic. My husband and I have been talking for a while, and we really miss the movies. We are looking forward to all the good movies coming back again," said Julie Mann, Penn Forest Township.
Mahoning Valley Cinema closed last year because of the pandemic.
Eryn Arnold is CEO of the theater. She says the name will remain the same, and the goal is to preserve the originality of the theater as best as she can.
"We are going to do some upgrades to concessions and clean up, obviously, but we are going to keep the heart of what it was," said Arnold.
People who live in Carbon County are happy to learn that the movie theater will open again soon. The next closest theater is near Allentown.
The theater plans to show classic movies at first and then bring in new releases as those films become available.
Anthony Petrone lives in Lehighton. He is happy to see signs of normalcy.
"This virus, I mean, it's been terrible. There's depression, and I mean, I've been cooped up in the house since this started. I'll be happy. I already have my vaccines, but I still have to wear the masks," said Petrone.
FunTime Cinemas Incorporated owns and operates three other locations in central Pennsylvania.
The plan is to start showing movies sometime next month.