An Eastern Iowa Theatre Has Been Showing Movies for 125 Years

Iowa is home to plenty of historic buildings, but there's only one theatre in the state that holds a Guinness World Record!

123 East Washington Street in Washington, Iowa is the address of the State Theatre, an iconic movie theatre that first opened its doors back in 1897. In 2016, the theatre was recognized by Guinness World Records as the "Oldest Continuously Operating Cinema Theatre" in not just the United States, but the entire world! According to the official website:

"The first moving picture shown at the Washington Iowa State Theatre was shown on a cinematographe that was made in Paris, France. Tickets for the first moving picture were 15, 25 and 35 US cents each."

According to Only in Your State, the State Theatre was initially called the Graham Opera House and opened on May 14th of 1897. That means that the theatre's 125th anniversary is coming up next month! Although it's gone through lots of renovations throughout the years, like new seats, carpet, and equipment, the theatre still has a few unique features. For example, they still use the same popcorn machine that was used back in 1948, and there's a classic waterfall curtain that covers the screen before the movie begins.

The State Theatre is operated by an Iowa company called Fridley Theatres, which also operates theatres in Decorah, Grinnell, Marshalltown, and more. The theatre in Washington is currently showing Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and will switch to The Bad Guys when it's released on Thursday. You can check out the full schedule of movies and pricing on the official website HERE.