One of the panhandle's oldest movie theaters will soon make the switch to digital, thanks to the help from grants.
The Midwest Theater received grants from the Peter Kiewit and Oregon Trail Community Foundations.
The grants total 55 - thousand dollars and will help fund upgrades to a digital projector and surround sound.
The total cost of the project is approximately 150 -thousand dollars.
Billy Estes the Midwest Theater Manager says without the digital upgrades, they would be unable to play movies in the future.
"The industry is moving in that direction. So if you don't upgrade, you can't show films. And that's what the Midwest has been about for so long and we want to preserve that history and that tradition showing films and having people see the movies on the big screen."
Estes says he hopes the digital transition is completed by next spring.
