The owners of a Chicago arthouse cinema will be taking over the Heights Theater in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, starting in 2026.

Brody Sheldon, who owns the Music Box, says she's intending to keep the essence of what makes the Heights Theater special, with 35mm and 70mm film capabilities. 

They'll also keep the 1929 Wurlitzer organ, which was used to perform live radio programming on WCCO in its downtown Minneapolis studios. It has 16 sets of pipes and organists typically play a short program before the 7:10 p.m. showings on Fridays and Saturdays. 

The Music Box, which opened in 1929, also features a pipe organ and often shows silent films with live accompaniment. The venue is the largest theater space operated full-time in Chicago, and is a home for cinephiles, who can gather in the theater's lounge to discuss movies, grab a drink or play a board game.

"The Heights has always been about celebrating great films with great people," said Tom Letness, who bought the Heights Theater in 1998. "I'm thrilled to pass it on to Music Box Theatre, whose passion for cinema and commitment to presentation match what I've built here."

The nearly 100-year-old cinema will close briefly after New Year's Day and reopen on Jan. 9 with a showing of Jim Jarmusch's "Father Mother Sister Brother." They're also planning to show a Robert Redford retrospective and the 17th Film Noir Festival in February, in partnership with the Trylon Cinema.

In addition, Sheldon says they'll expand the Heights Theater's late night offerings on Fridays and Saturdays, offer Saturday morning screenings for kids and revitalize a silent cinema series with live accompaniment on the organ.