DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines’ last single-screen movie theater has closed after 80 years. The Des Moines Register reports that the Varsity Theater was packed during its final screening on Sunday, more than eight decades after the theater opened on Christmas Day in 1938. Theater owner Denise Mahon says the turnout touched her heart. She’d announced the closure in November, citing plans to undergo knee replacement surgery.

Mahon took over running the theater after her father died in 2009. She decided to play one of her father’s favorite films, “Cinema Paradiso,” for the theater’s final showings. Theatergoers say the Varsity Theater was known for playing movies that were more unconventional, such as independent and foreign films. Mahon says she’s taking her time finding new owners who will carry on the theater’s legacy.