The Dundee Theater brings back great memories for those who live in the neighborhood, and the marquee going up Wednesday renewed the area's excitement for the renovation project — and its grand re-opening.
"One of the cool things about the sign that we are really excited about is that it takes us back to the history of the building," Film Streams Deputy Director Casey Logan said. "Early on, there were a couple different version of a Dundee sign that was the inspiration."
The Dundee Theater closed in 2013, and the building was vacant until Film Streams, a local nonprofit, purchased the building and decided to renovate it.
The theater will feature original mementos from the building, "things like familiar booth seating which a lot of people identify with the Dundee Theater and there's some nice things in the original lobby," Logan said.
The main theater will seat 300 people, and a second micro-theater will have the capacity for 25.
The restaurant Kitchen Table will open its second location on the property, and in the back of the buildings, there will be a lounge area where people can relax.
"There's a patio where people can kind of gather before or after films or just kind of passing by. And in the lobby, there's this kind of community space to do the same," Logan said.
Film Streams is just short $130,000 from their fundraising goal of $7.5 million, he said. Once they reach that goal, it unlocks $1 million in challenge grants.
The hope is to have the Dundee Theater completed by the end of the year, in time for the premier of "Downsizing," the latest film by Nebraska native Alexander Payne; much of the movie was filmed in Omaha.
