Atlanta

Historic Tara Theatre officially reopens after shutdown

By Berndt Petersen, WSB-TV
By Berndt Petersen, WSB-TV

ATLANTA — Metro Atlanta ‘moviegoers’ are rejoicing Thursday afternoon after a historic theatre that closed last fall is reopening.

Michael Braun says there are some things a community just can’t afford to lose.

“This is a piece of Atlanta history. It’s a piece of cinema history,” Braun told Channel 2′s Berndt Petersen.

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The Tara Theatre stood along Cheshire Road for more than 50 years, but much to the disappointment of so many was shut down by Regal Cinemas last fall.

“Could we possibly reopen it? With the help of so many people in the community, the answer is yes,” Christopher Escobar said.

Escobar is the new owner. The Tara Theatre will now be the sister cinema to Escobar’s historic Plaza Theatre a few miles away.

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When the Tara Theatre was built back in the late 1960′s, instead of the four screens it has now, there was only one - a giant one.

“A single-purpose facility. A movie theatre is what works best here,” the building’s owner Jack Halpern said.

Escobar says the theatre has always been a gathering place for moviegoers and the films they fell in love with.

“Maybe ‘people’ they fell in love with [it] too and to come back to a space and that history is huge. We’re losing too many places that have meant things to people and to be able to get one back feels really good,” Halpern explained.

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Braun feels really good about the reopening night premieres. He showed Petersen the proof, a tattoo of Luke Skywalker battling Darth Vader on his forearm.

“The first time I went to the Plaza was last year, and the first movie I saw was Star Wars. Playing it here makes sense,” Braun said.

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