Legacy Sun-Ray Cinema closes its doors

Saturday night is the end of an era in Five Points as the Sun-Ray Cinema has shut its doors. Many people flooded in to be a part of the last day of a yearly 100-year tradition.

The final two movies were shown after a new owner purchased the building in May.

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“We got the last tickets to the last shows because we’re not ready to say goodbye,” Mackenzie Thweatt, a Jacksonville resident, said.

The building first opened in 1927 as what was then called the Riverside Theatre. It was the first theatre in Florida to play movies with sounds, known as talkies.

However, on May 16th, Atlanta-based developer Union South Partners purchased it for $7 million and with that, Sun-Ray’s lease was not renewed.

Read: Sun-Ray Cinema building sold for $7 million, closing in July

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In a release, the new owner said it’s committed to investing, “significant capital into the theater space to enhance and improve it as a destination for entertainment while preserving the theater’s historic fabric, keeping many of the building’s existing elements intact.”

Read: Sun-Ray Cinema building sold for $7 million, closing in July

However, many people walking through Five Points said this neighborhood would not be the same- and that this movie theater was a staple to Five Points.

Jacksonville resident Eero Mauerman believes this change will negatively impact the area.

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“If you go to an AMC, there is not a lot of service going on. If you have a problem with your food or drink, you got to run down those long hallways,” Mauerman said.

Sun-Ray Cinema did post on Facebook that they are looking to relocate to Downtown close to the stadium.

Read: Sun-Ray Cinema closing Saturday but possibly making return in another part of town

They’ve been working with the Downtown Investment Authority, but nothing has been confirmed yet.

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