ATLANTA — Metro Atlanta ‘moviegoers’ rejoiced Thursday afternoon after a historic theatre that closed last fall reopened.

Atlanta resident 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 our partners at Channel 2.

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, the theater’s new owner, said.

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

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.

“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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