BRIDGTON – The Magic Lantern, a movie theater that has served as a downtown landmark for more than 75 years, reopened last weekend in a new building that retains many of the artifacts from the one that was demolished.

In its larger, more attractive space, the theater manages to pay tribute to its past.

The marquee from the crumbling old building now hangs in the lobby, while the same stained-glass lampshades cast light onto Victorian-style furniture. Also in place is the old-time ticket window, along with posters of Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable that mark the entrances to the restrooms.

“We knew, in order for the Lantern to live on, the new facility had to embrace the old,” said Frank Howell, owner of Down East Inc., which came to operate the theater in the late 1980s when the previous owner gave it up.

The old building was sinking into the unstable ground beneath it when the final curtain came down in 2005. The building had housed various theaters since 1929, along with a roller-skating rink and several businesses.

Author Stephen King, who used to live in Bridgton, was host of a premiere of “The Shining” at the Magic Lantern in 1980.

Town residents voted in 2005 to authorize a tax break to allow the owners to move ahead with the project.

Events surrounding the theater’s reopening include a red-carpet gala Friday night and an American Indian drum ceremony and blessing Saturday morning.

The four-screen theater planned to reopen for business with matinee showings of “National Treasure: Book of Secrets,” “Alvin and the Chipmunks” and “There Will Be Blood.”

In addition to showing movies, the Magic Lantern will host live entertainment.