At one time, they were beacons in the downtowns of both small and large cities, their neon signs and marquees advertising—imagine this—double features, air conditioning and buttered popcorn—the real butter kind.

Starting with silent movies and moving into the talkies, every town had at least one movie house. That was, of course, in the days before Cineplex’s and sprawling suburban malls. Slowly the bright lights went out, movies with big named stars no longer played and finally, downtown theaters began to close their doors.

But that was then. Cinema buffs and architectural preservationists now see how old movie theaters can help lead the way to revitalizing downtowns. And so the Indiana landscape is dotted with renovated gems. Many now show first run movies; others a mixture of old and new while still others revert back to Vaudeville days with live events (albeit with a more modern twist) and also show movies as well.

Here are a few of our favorites.