Ottawa, KS - When you walk down Main Street in Ottawa Kansas, the Plaza Theater sings nostalgia, and it's should. The movie theater, dating back to 1907, has been certified by the Guinness World Record as the oldest purpose built cinema in the world, beating out a theater in Denmark by three days. Owner, Scott Zaremea says most theaters of that time burned down due to how flammable the film was, but the construction of the building preserved it.
"The projection room on the second floor is concrete and steal lined. It has a door on it that kinda looks like a submarine door," explains Zaremea.
The theater has had a few updates over it's last hundred plus years in business, but Zaremea says it's still very nostalgic. The movie theater started out as a single screen theater, but in the 1970's it was expanded in to a dual screen, and in the last decade, everything went digital.
The original stage is now a movie memorabilia museum. There's authentic movie props, vintage posters and old movie scripts. The museum has a vintage Edison Kinetoscope, and other movie memorabilia.
Zaremea says they're building two airbnb's in the top floor living area. Those staying there will be able to walk out on the second floor balcony to watch a movie. The old projector room will be used as a reception room with food and drink to enjoy. He's expecting the project to be completed within the next 90 days.