A Trip to the Movies

I got my new glasses last Thursday. After several years of a need for new glasses, I feel rather silly that I waited so long to get new ones. I never felt any pressing reason to get new glasses, until last Friday. I first heard of the Packard Theater about a month ago, and I am somewhat bewildered at the level of excitement that came over me over this unique movie theater.

Outside of the small town of Culpeper, Virginia, amid rolling hills of farmhouses and silos, the Library of Congress has a facility that houses, restores, and celebrates film, typically old movies. Three times each week, the Library shows a selected movie in this beautiful retro-theater complete with chandeliers and a curtain that opens when the film begins.



The ceiling has stars on it!  ... not Hollywood stars!

Last Friday, they played The Shop Around the Corner starring a very young Jimmy Stewart. We had it circled on the calendar since first investigating it, which led to a month of anticipation. There is no cost of admission, but you have to make a reservation one week in advance. One week of growing excitement.
The movie turned out to be wonderful, and the whole experience lived up to pretty high expectations.

It leaves me wondering why there aren’t fancier movie theaters. Just the presence of the curtain made the old movie feel much more like a true production. With movie tickets costing $10, $12, maybe even $15 a pop, it seems like a curtain is a small thing to request.

Anyways, the 45 minute drive from home to the theater will keep me from being a regular at the Packard Theater, but it will also keep the excitement and expectation alive with every special occasion to a true cinematic experience.