The photograph that accompanies today’s article is one for which I can promise you I have the rights without getting into “fair use.” Because I took it, you see. I spent an entertaining but uncomfortable evening in that theatre last Thursday night (the picture is from a bit before then), and I’ll be spending another one next Wednesday, and I even actually laid out the cash for a membership, which I’ve been meaning to do for years. I am now an official member of the Olympia Film Society, and they need every one they can get.

We have, in my area, about thirty screens. (I wanted to give you a proper number, but no one will tell me how many screens the mall theatre has, and I can’t remember.) We have three theatres. Out across town, there are sixteen screens including the not-actually IMAX option. In the mall, maybe twelve or fourteen? And, downtown, one. A beautiful old movie house that was built in 1924, in fact.

Alas, this is kind of the problem. They had to have a fundraiser for a digital projector a while back, because while they’ll be playing The Last Picture Show next week, and they’ve got six or eight showing of Harold and Maude this month and next month, and so forth, the fact is, a lot of their money comes from what are technically second-run features, like all of us who went and saw The Martian there last week. They had to have a digital projector in order to stay in business.

It’s sort of a vicious circle at OFS, really. People are less inclined to go, because the sound system is old and not as good, and the seats are narrow and uncomfortable. But because they don’t have a lot of money, they can’t replace the sound system and the seats. I was looking at a list of everything they’d really like someone to give them quite a lot of money to fix, and it’s disheartening. The fire escape, it turns out, is original to the building; they’re going to have to replace it soon in order to stay in business, I suspect. The bathrooms are similarly a problem, and of course the building isn’t ADA compliant. What building from 1924 is without retrofitting?

I probably see more movies there than anyone else I know, because there are always movies I know I’m only going to see there, if I’m going to see them in a theatre. The reason I refer to the features as “technically second-run” is that no other theatre in Olympia, probably no theatre closer than Tacoma and maybe even Seattle, got Cave of Forgotten Dreams. (Of course not 3D; they don’t have a 3D projector. Though I did see Dial M for Murder in 3D there, because that’s just film.) No one else is getting the Oscar-nominated animated shorts, which is what I’ll see there week after next, along with Room. No matter how many screens we have, there are all sorts of movies whose only theatrical release in the area will be a one-week run at the Capitol.

Actually, I know people who don’t remember the Capitol is even there, or didn’t realize it played movies, or what have you. There are several other theatres downtown, and they’re all for live theatre. The Capitol has live music, sometimes, but it would be hard to stage much there. It was built as a movie house. An old-fashioned, classic movie house in the heart of a vibrant downtown—Olympia is lucky, I think, in ways that we don’t reliably remember.

Volunteers from the Olympia Film Society staff the theatre entirely; no one, so far as I know, is paid to work there. Even the board is volunteer-run, I believe. I’ve been on occasion to see a parent staffing the ticket booth along with their child. Everyone working there seems eager to discuss whatever movie is coming out; I had a pleasant chat about the career Dalton Trumbo had during the blacklist last week while waiting for my movie to start. One ticket pays for two movies, too; while they don’t play shorts or newsreels, it’s still your only bet for a double feature.

Oh, I grant you, the double features are usually a little odd. I saw Inside Llewyn Davis and Wolf of Wall Street in one night, and Shame and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. And, yes, The Martian and Trumbo, and there will be the Oscar-nominated animated shorts and Room. But you know, there’s also the fact that they keep a suggestion box in the lobby and actually seem to read the suggestions. And, several years ago, I was at a Thursday night screening of a documentary about film criticism and wasn’t the only person in the audience. So, in the hopes of drawing attention to such a valuable asset and maybe getting a few more people to sign up for memberships, here is my love letter. It’s a beautiful building where I have seen many movies, admittedly of varying quality, and I hope they find a patron. I wish I could afford it myself.