JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sun-Ray Cinema is set to close its doors for the final time on Saturday.
Tickets were sold out for the last three showings at the Five Points community staple.
Union South Partners recently bought the building. The new ownership said it plans to preserve “the theater’s historic fabric” and keep the building’s existing elements intact.
The owners said they want the theater to remain an entertainment destination in the area.
RELATED: New owner says Sun-Ray Cinema lease has expired, won’t be renewed
The theater originally opened in 1927 as the Riverside Theatre and was the first theater in Jacksonville to show films with sound, also known as Talkies.
It closed and reopened several times before officially closing in the ’70s.
Since then, there have been several other uses for the theater over the years, including a live acting theater and a live music venue before transitioning back into a movie theater with the opening of the Sun-Ray in 2011.
Kerry Speckman has been a regular customer since it opened in 2011.
“How can I not be here on the last day? Even if it’s standing in the balcony that doesn’t have seats. That’s where I will be. And my Sun-Ray shirt. Probably with some Kleenex,” Speckman said.
Liane Roman, a long-time customer, got a chance to see one last movie.
“Been coming for the final days of Sun-Ray. I came in and saw ‘Thelma,’ cried about three times. I’m not a crier, but it’s beautiful. So I had to show the support and come one last time,” Roman said.
Speckman said the Sun-Ray closing means losing a place where a community was created.
“I can’t tell you the last time I went to a movie theater that was not Sun-Ray,” Speckman said. “I don’t know that I’ll go to a movie theater in Jacksonville again because I’ll just wait till it’s streaming. It’s just too blah and this place has such character and feeling and love and everything in it that it supersedes the movie itself.”
Even without a ticket, Roman said she would be there to say her final goodbyes.
“Gonna bring a bottle of champagne and crack it with the people that are, you know, the people that are serving us who’ve served us so well, all this time. And even if I have to stand in this hallway, we’re still gonna say goodbye.
The final showing on Saturday is “Everything Terrible Presents… Doggiewoggiez! Poochiewoochiez!” starting at 7 p.m.