JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. (WJHL) — The Jackson Theatre celebrated its 80th anniversary Sunday with a showing of the 1945 hit “The Kansan.”

With popcorn in hand, guests paid $1 to enjoy the nostalgia and reminisce about the theatre’s grand opening 80 years ago.

News Channel 11 attended the celebration and spoke with Lori Powell, the assistant operations director at the Jackson Theatre, who said the theatre is thankful to have seen generations of families come to Jonesborough.

“The theatre was a small-town theater that opened in 1945 for the community to come out, see films, have fun,” he said. “It closed in the early 60s. And it is something that the town’s residents and administrators always really wanted it to be reopened. So it was a project that lasted about ten years. 2014 they purchased the building and they started renovating it. It took a little long, but we opened officially in November of 2024.”

Powell invited Marian Anderson, a historian and tour guide, into the interview to introduce the researcher who turned back the clock and learned what was playing on the screen in the 1940s.

“[Anderson’s] a tour guide, and she has done extensive research on the theatre,” Powell said. “And she has researched what films shown here the first week the theatre opened in 1945. And the Kansan is one of those films. We’ve shown films all week long of films from the 1940s that was playing here at the time of the theatre opening.”

Powell said the throwback films are a way to remind the community that the ticket booths are open and the theatre is ready for a crowd.

After the movie, the theatre gave away 30 prizes and gift cards donated by local merchants.

The Jackson Theatre will host a grand opening celebration on Nov. 1. To view a calendar of scheduled films and live performances, click here.