Members of the community are fighting to save a beloved Essex County movie theater.

The Maplewood Theater opened in the 1920s. It shut down in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A plan to reopen it fell through and a redevelopment plan is now in the works.

"We feel passionately that we keep this movie theater open and in this spot, right here. Even though we don't have the money, we do believe we have the power because we think this will benefit Maplewood and we have the community behind us,” says Lisa Cohen, of the Maplewood Film Society.

While keeping the theater is an option, the redevelopment could also include housing, retail or recreation spaces.