A single-screen movie house that opened during Prohibition is turning 100 years old, and Columbia Heights is throwing it a party that runs eight days long. The Heights Theater will present 11 films from October 1 through October 8, one for each decade of its operation, alongside live organ music, archival film prints, and a souvenir program tracing its century-long survival.
The centennial celebration was the subject of a recent conversation on MPR News's Minnesota Now program, hosted by Nina Moini. Ryan Oestreich, co-owner of the Heights Theater, joined the program. The venue has a Beaux-Arts-designed single-screen auditorium.
A Brewer's Prohibition-Era Gamble
The Heights Theater opened in 1926, built by Arthur Gluek, a brewer who launched the venue during Prohibition, according to the same MPR News program. The theater has since passed through multiple owners.
That scrappy survival story continued into the modern era. When private buyers purchased the theater in November 1998, its exterior had been concealed for decades beneath 1960s turquoise metal panels, and interior plasterwork had been walled up entirely. Restorers had to track down original blueprints from the University of Minnesota archives just to rebuild its original architecture, according to Rediscover Movies, which reports the renovation also restored chandeliers strung with 2,600 Egyptian lead crystals and reopened a hidden orchestra pit.
New Ownership, Same Old Bones
Long-time owner Tom Letness, who had owned and restored the venue since 1998, passed stewardship of the theater in December 2025 to the leadership behind Chicago's historic Music Box Theatre. Music Box owner Brody Sheldon took over ownership, with General Manager Ryan Oestreich assisting in managing operations, as reported by FOX 9.
The theater still runs on a mix of old and new technology. It's equipped with a 2K Barco digital projector for contemporary releases, but the Heights also maintains operational Norelco AAII reel-to-reel projectors capable of showing 35 millimeter and 70 millimeter archival prints, per Rediscover Movies.
Eleven Films, One For Every Decade
The centennial lineup includes Harold Lloyd's silent classic Safety Last!, with organist Ed Copeland performing live, according to the Minnesota Now program. The eight-day festival, detailed on the theater's own centennial page, also includes the original Disney Pinocchio representing the 1940s, Monty Python, The Matrix for the 1990s, and The Shining for the 1980s.
The festival climaxes on October 8 with a 70mm screening of Damien Chazelle's Babylon, following an opening night built around 35mm presentations of films like Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard, according to the theater's centennial festival page. Columbia Heights Mayor Amáda Márquez Simula has scheduled an official centennial ceremony for October 1 and issued a city proclamation officially designating October 8 as Heights Theater Day, according to MinneapoliMedia.
The Mighty Wurlitzer
The theater has a Wurlitzer pipe organ.
A Landmark Amid a Changing Corridor
The building originally hosted live vaudeville acts before transitioning to full-time film screenings.
The theater has also become a hub for the Twin Cities' grassroots physical media scene. In April 2026, it hosted a Rental Revival community event featuring four local groups — Saturn Video, The Video Store MPLS, Sloppy Discs, and Ant Hill Video — including a screening of the 1997 cult sci-fi film Event Horizon.
Getting There
Tickets for the centennial films will be sold on the theater's website and at the door, and visitors can pick up a souvenir program guide detailing the venue's hundred-year history.
