SEWARD, Neb. (KOLN) - A movie theater in Seward that’s been open for more than a century and become a staple in the community is facing a new challenge that’s threatening their business.

The Rivoli Theater opened back in 1920 before the current owner, Julie Wisehart, bought it in the 70′s. Since then, owning it hasn’t been work.

“Even if I’m not working, I come down here to work over the concession stand so I can see all my friends,” she said.

Wisehart said the theater has deep roots within her family. He two daughters have worked there ever since she bought it.

“So we’ve been here since 1979 helping with the theater as much as we can. And now we both take turns working during the week,” Connie Greger, Wisehart’s daughter, said.

The theater has been an entertainment hug for Seward residents for decades, but a recent problem in their main theater is threatening their business.

It’s main theater holds 220 people and is the driving force that keeps the business going. However, in October the projector in that theater started experiencing major problems.

The light engine in their projector is starting to go out, which affects the colors of the movies they show on one side of the screen.

“We tried a couple different things to fix it and when we got a hold of our projection company, they said that it was a light engine and that it was something that was way too expensive to fix, it was just more logical to just replace,” Greger said.

However, replacing it would cost $50,000, which is a price that they can’t afford.

“If it was our smaller theater, maybe we could, you know, shut it down for a little while or whatever we need to but you know, this is our gem,” Greger said.

They know that the projector will eventually go out. Since then, they have been asking for the community’s help in raising money to replace it and the response has been overwhelming.

“People are just coming from nowhere. And it’s just making my heart feel so happy,” Cheryl Vajgrt, Wisehart’s daughter, said.

Greger said, “She like ‘I started crying.’ I was like, ‘oh, you better bring a box of tissues on our fundraiser day.’”

In less than a month, the community has donated $42,000 of the $50,000 needed to replace the projector.

“It just touches my heart so much that the people in the community are so good,” Vajgrt said.

As they get closer to their goal, they continue to hear more stories of just how much the Rivoli means to the people of Seward.

“A lot of people say, you know, we don’t come like we should but you know, we don’t want it to go away ever,” Greger said.

The Rivoli Theater is still accepting donations until the end of the year.