The Kearney Historic World Theater Being Restored

When historic The World Theatre closed down in 2008, most Kearney, Nebraska citizens had a difficult time imagining downtown Kearney without The World Twin, as it was then called. The last few years of operation, the owners split the theater into two smaller theaters in order to show more films. But it wasn't enough to save the theater from closing down. The battle-scared theater could not compete with the newly opened multi-theater complex at Hilltop Mall.

After all, The World Theatre had been in operation since 1927. It was a prime building of the time, even offering the luxury of air conditioning. In those early days, The World Theatre wasn't simply a movie theater. It also featured Vaudeville and amateur talent shows. It became a part of historic downtown Kearney.

I saw my first movie theater movie at The World Theatre. During my growing up years, my family didn't attend movies. We ended that trend when my mother and I went to The World Theatre to see "The Cross and The Switchblade" about David Wilkerson's work with street gangs and the founding of Teen Challenge.

Though The World Theatre needed repair, it was still sad to see the closed sign across the door of the historic building. Downtown Kearney no longer had a movie theater. Parents shopping downtown could no longer leave their children occupied for a couple of hours at a movie. The other downtown theater, which closed down long before The World Theatre, had been restored as Fort Theatre Dentistry-not an operating movie theater.

But all that changed when Jon Bokenkamp, whose parents live in Kearney, returned to Kearney with his family. On the save The World Theatre web site, Bokenkamp writes that his career in Hollywood as a screenwriter started at The World Theatre where he fell in love with movies. With restoration in mind, Jon Bokenkamp and a group of Kearney citizens and friends got together, started The World Theatre Foundation and began fund-raising to restore the historic theater to it's 1927 grandeur. The city of Kearney also voted a grant to help in the restoration. Besides movies, the restored historic theater will be a venue for private and community meetings and events.

Today, The World Theatre is on its way to once more becoming not just a historic stop, but also a place to rest, refresh and enjoy independent films, documentaries as well as movie classics that will enhance The World Theatre experience as well as downtown Kearney.