Nearly a century old Macon's Douglass Theatre once hosted musical greats like Little Richard, James Brown, and Otis Redding.
Now they say they're one of the few single screen theaters with a digital projector.
Since the historic Douglass theater came back to life in 1997, one man has kept things running behind the scenes. Now, Butch McCrary is navigating something new -- a digital projector.
"This is gonna allow us to enter the new digital age where everything is available to us now, all kinds of choices," Technical Director Butch McCrarry says.
Those choices have been limited until now, because many studios no longer films on 35 millimeter reels. That left many smaller theaters with the choice to upgrade. And many others were forced to close their doors.
"This will keep the theater running. It's not gonna fade away as the old mom and pops did when they couldn't do them anymore. They couldn't get them," McCrarry says.
The Douglass needed needed to upgrade to give the community what they wanted.
This new projector even allows them to show 3-D films, which is one of the biggest trends in the film industry.
The community helped the Douglass raise $130,000 for the new digital system.
Noelle Brooks said the upgrade was vital to keep the Douglass alive.
"That was the main reason we wanted to do this to make sure we didn't die out," Brooks said.
To celebrate going digital, the Douglass will show three films for free this Saturday:
Zambezia 3-D at noon, Home at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., and Big Game at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
