Bucknell student boosts Lewisburg’s Campus Theatre online reach

A Bucknell student is helping one of downtown Lewisburg’s best-known landmarks reach far beyond Market Street. Caleb Warren, a Bucknell Class of 2029 history major from Bakersfield, California, has become the Campus Theatre’s social media manager, and Bucknell said his work has revived the theatre’s online presence.

The numbers point to a real shift in visibility for the 501(c)(3) nonprofit historic movie theatre at 413 Market Street. Warren said his average Instagram or Facebook post is now drawing close to 5,000 views, while one Reel promoting The Princess Bride and the Riot in the River Film Festival climbed past 41,000 views. For a single-screen venue that opened Jan. 17, 1941, that kind of reach can translate into fuller screenings, stronger event awareness and more regular traffic in Lewisburg’s downtown business district.

The Campus Theatre describes itself as one of the few remaining single-screen Art Deco movie houses in the country, which makes preservation part of the business equation as much as the cultural one. Greater online reach can help the theatre sell tickets, build membership support and keep its public programming visible to residents across the Susquehanna River Valley who may not pass the box office on a regular basis. The theatre also offers open-caption Saturday screenings sponsored by Geisinger, underscoring its role as a community venue rather than just a nostalgic landmark.

Warren’s work fits into a broader Bucknell-to-town pipeline already centered on the theatre. Bucknell’s Film/Media Studies concentration presents weekly screenings at the Campus Theatre, and the university says those showings are free and open to the public. The series features repertory world cinema, independent films, restorations, revivals, Central Pennsylvania premieres, visiting filmmakers and post-screening discussions, giving the downtown theatre a steady stream of programming and a built-in audience.

That matters in a borough where the health of a historic venue often depends on whether people know what is playing and when. Warren’s digital work gives the Campus Theatre a more modern discovery tool, connecting a legacy Lewisburg institution to viewers who may first encounter it on a phone screen before they ever step inside. For a building with 85 years of history behind it, the next chapter may depend as much on online attention as on the marquee out front.