The State Theater in downtown Washington. Photo by Sally Y. Hart

Century-old films and the Brintons will be celebrated at the State Theater, the longest running movie theater in the world, which is located in downtown Washington. Local historian Michael Zahs saved the films a number of years ago and has recently worked to restore and showcase the films. They’ve had to look at historical documents to prove that moving pictures have been shown here since 1896.

Zahs says there are people coming from around the world, including Paris, France. He adds it is a world-wide significant event and he wants it to be a celebration for local people, as it’s part of their story.

One of the projectors to be used during the shows was used by Frank Brinton a century ago, some of the posters were printed on a hand-crank press and the food featured will be authentic of the time period. Tickets for the special showing of Brinton Films at the State Theater on May 1st and 2nd can be purchased at the State Theater box office or online at BrintonFilm.com.