East Aurora, N.Y. (WBEN) - Operating under new ownership since February, The Aurora Theatre in East Aurora has been in the progress of getting some luxurious upgrades, which movie-goers can expect to see this Friday upon reopen.
The Aurora Theatre, opened in 1925 was recently acquired this year by the West Herr Automotive Group's President and CEO Scott Bieler, who wanted to continue the tradition of the theatre and preserve the history.
"Scott really just wanted to make sure that it stays preserved because it's such a staple in East Aurora," says Julia Foit, a paralegal for West Herr and the General Manager of the theatre, "It's right on Main Street and you see the marquee all up in lights. It's a big part of the town."
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She says the transition of doing work at West Herr by day to general oversight of the theatre at night was an easy transition thanks to the help of the staff, "It's been good. The staff at the theatre has been phenomenal from the beginning, as things have gone on. So they really helped me along and then helped make the transition and being there so easy. They've been fantastic and so helpful."
The theatre has been closed since the 12th of September for new renovations, "We have a new mural, the previous murals that have been there since the 1920s, those are still in the theater, but they're in the back of the theater where they previously were. [There's] new carpeting and new paint. The bathrooms were completely renovated [as well as] new light fixtures in the theater," says Foit.
But that's not all, just this past week and half, they added 105 new reclining seats that even have a heating feature. They left some of the original seats behind, to keep to the objective of preserving the old while bringing in the new.
The theatre reopens again on Friday, September 30th. Showing next will be The Railway Children Return. Click here for more information.