A new marquee installed last month at the Kineto Theater in downtown Forest is helping remind the community the beloved and newly renovated movie theater is open for businesses.
“It looks fabulous,” said Ruth Illman, a member of the fundraising committee for the renovation project by the theater’s owners, the Kiwanis Club of Forest.
“It has just made the street come alive,” she said.
The movie house, which dates back to 1917, has been owned and operated by the service club since 1977.
Work began in November 2019 on a $1.4-million project to add a new concession stand and party rental room in a former flower shop next door, provide improved accessible washrooms, and expand and upgrade a basement kitchen and club room.
That work is now “99.9 per cent” complete, Illman said.
“We just have a little bit of work to do out on the façade at the front” and a few “odds and ends” inside, she said.
Club member Glen Starkey said they began the work shortly before the pandemic began and initially expected to keep the theater open during the renovations.
When the theater had to close because of public-health rules, it allowed the project to move ahead “in a more logical manner” since it didn’t have to work around an operating movie theatre, he said.
The interior renovations were finished by June 2021, but work on the façade and marquee waited for approval of a grant the club had applied for to help pay for that portion of the work, Illman said.
She said local residents have been “just thrilled” with the interior renovations but “the outside looked horrible.”
And it sat that way for a year or more, Illman said.
“I’m sure half the population thought it was still closed when they looked at the outside,” said club member Murray Finch.
Having the marquee in place has helped change that perception, he said.
“People are really impressed and it has made a big difference,” Illman said.
Seeing the project reach this point “feels wonderful, but it will feel even better when it’s all paid for,” Illman said.
The service club still has $124,000 to raise to finish paying off the project but is waiting on a few grant applications that could bring the amount down “well below $100,000,” she said.
Since reopening following the interior renovations and the lifting of pandemic restrictions, the Kineto has been “busy all the time,” Illman said.
It’s rented for events and used by other community groups, such as the North Lambton Community Health Centre, Sarnia-Lambton Rebound, the Boys and Girls Club, churches and others.
And the service club continues to offer regular movie screenings, as well as special events and live performances.