Colonia Reopens to Huge Crowd in Norwich

The new owners of the Colonia Theatre in downtown Norwich have spent a month getting the nearly 100-year-old building in shape to show their first movie, which was Twilight's "Breaking Dawn: Part 2" at 10 p.m. Thursday.

According to co-owner Todd Barnes, the theatre was packed with about 200 people for the first showing of the last of the Twilight series.

Owners Rich and Todd Barnes say they will eventually bring technical advances to the Colonia that allow people in the Chenango County area watch a first-run movie with the same picture and sound quality of large city theaters. Rich Barnes says he has big plans for the update.

"With the equipment we are getting, it will give us the ability to do 60 frames per second," he said. "This will help with the 3D and more clear picture than hwat we've had here. The surround sound system will be added in as well. We're talking at least 12-15 speakers in Theater 1 and nine in Theater 2."

The two owners are working to bring the theater’s atmosphere back to its prime days by featuring cartoon characters painted on the wall, and memorabilia from the past including the projector used many years ago on display in the lobby.

The Barnes brothers want to make the Norwich theater a place to go for a first-run movie with the family, instead of staying at home or driving to Binghamton or Syracuse to see the same movie at a higher cost.