Once an iconic piece of downtown Shawnee, Kansas, a boarded-up movie theater will soon get new life.
There’s a new effort under way to get the place up and running again.
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Hidden in plain sight on Johnson Drive, you’ll find the weathered remnants of a place taken by time – and three guys who want to take it back.“I didn’t want to pick our colors and try to find something that matched it,” said Jeff Calkins as he walked us through the work done so far.
Calkins, his brother Chris Calkins, and their friend Bruce Young are working to restore the old Aztec Theatre.
Founded in the 1920s as Mission Theatre, it was renamed in the ’40s, and stayed in business until 1974.
“It was like the place to be in those days,” Young said. “It was crowded. The line would be down the street to buy tickets.”
“Bringing it back like we are, we hope a lot of people will come. A lot of people will come and enjoy it,” said Chris Calkins.
There’s a long way to go before it’s back to its former self, but they’re trying.
The Aztec Group is using investments, grant money and donations to get the job done.
(Read more: KMBC.com)