A new micro-cinema space is coming to Old Greenbelt Theatre!

February 13, 2020

Our 2019 Community Building Blocks grant recipient Friends of Old Greenbelt Theatre (FGT) is enhancing the film culture in Prince George’s County by providing a space for film and media education and film screenings.

FGT is a local non-profit that operates the iconic Old Greenbelt Theatre. The theater was completed in 1938 during the New-Deal-era and the area was declared a National Historic District in 1997. When the theater’s main auditorium temporarily closed for renovations last summer, FGT kept their film programming going through the creation of a pop-up cinema next door!

During the creation of the pop-up, Executive Director of Old Greenbelt Theatre Caitlin McGrath applied to our Community Building Blocks program and received a grant of free carpet tiles for the project. Officially opened on July 3, 2019, the Pop-up at the Old Greenbelt Theatre is a 40-seat micro-cinema with draperies, plush chairs, cup holders, and sound baffling and acoustic paneling that improve sound quality.

The pop-up was such a success that FGT created the Beyond the Screen Initiative to fundraise the build-out of the space into a permanent screening room. Now that they’ve met their goal of $250,000, the pop-up will temporarily close this Spring and reopen in the Fall as a state-of-the-art screening room and educational space. In addition to regular movie screenings, the vintage-style space will be home to the Media Arts Literacy Lab and offer educational programs, workshops, and classes for all ages.

If you want to check out a movie at the pop-up before it closes for renovation, screenings will be available until February 20, 2020. Congratulations to the Old Greenbelt Theatre!

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