Long before the latest "Star Wars" saga installment, Carbon County had a rich history of theaters patronized by its residents. Throughout its history Carbon County was the home to over 10 theaters.

At the turn-of-the-century the county was on a vaudeville or burlesque circuit that included stops at the Lehighton Opera House, the Mauch Chunk Opera House and Sharpe's Opera House in Lansford. Shortly thereafter, the nickelodeons came into being, and we saw the Lyric in Lehighton and the Nickelodeon open their doors in Palmerton. Theaters in the county continued to grow and prosper until virtually every town in the county had at least one theater.We had first-run theaters in the Palace Theater in Lansford and at the Park Theater in Lehighton where you could buy both orchestra and cheaper balcony seats. The Park Theater owners were very proud of their organ when it was installed in 1923 at the cost of $23,000.Names of the theaters would change, but going around the county, we had in Palmerton, The Jewel Theater and The Palm Theater.The latter had two different incarnations as in the 1930s the first Palm Theater was lost to fire only to be rebuilt on the same site. The last incarnation was a rally point during World War II to sell war bonds, but ultimately it also became a casualty to fire in the 1970s. The senior high-rise on Delaware Avenue was built at its location.Some theaters were better known by their nicknames like the Colonial Theater, which stood where Hager Furniture Company now stands. Known for the Westerns that were part of its daily menu, it was known to the locals as the Ranch House.Meanwhile up in Lehighton, the Lehighton Opera House became the Classic (former Times News building) which moved its entrance from First Street to Iron Street. It competed with the Park Theater, which ultimately ended up today as the Fritz Lanes. Mauch Chunk's Opera House became the Capitol Theater, while over on the east side, the Ritz Theater beckoned its patrons. Meanwhile up in Weatherly a different Ritz Theatre was open for all in what is now the borough park.In the Panther Valley the Roxy served Nesquehoning in what is now a vacant auto garage on Catawissa Street. Up in Summit Hill was the Capitol Theater, which was later demolished and today is a vacant lot.In Lansford, Max Plocinik's Opera House was later sold and became Sharpe's Opera House and then renamed the Victoria Theater. Today it too is a vacant lot.The Valley Theater was built to show first-run movies. It later became the Palace Theater, and then later became a restaurant, but now is scheduled for the wrecking ball.As people started driving, the county saw its first drive-in theater in the Mahoning Valley Drive-in when it opened its gates in 1948.Later as television came into people's homes by cable, the theaters one by one closed until at one point in time there were no indoor movie theaters in the county.The closest theater for county residents became the Angela Theatre, the successor to that town's Ritz Theatre, across the county line in Coaldale. In the mid-1990s, the first indoor multiplex theater came into being as Dr. David Yanoff developed Mahoning Valley Cinema at the Carbon Mall.