Gallery: Workers take apart Chattanooga's giant IMAX screen

Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 1/5/16. Hector Merida, left, and other workers with Anderson Guttering and Tree build a scaffolding to install a new audio speaker system at the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX theater on Tuesday, January 5, 2016. The Tennessee Aquarium IMAX is being converted from a standard 70mm projection theater into a cutting edge IMAX laser projection system theater complete with a 12-point audio system and 3D sound sphere. The renovations are expected to take nearly a month and cost $1.2 million dollars.
Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 1/5/16. Hector Merida, left, and other workers with Anderson Guttering and Tree build a scaffolding to install a new audio speaker system at the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX theater on Tuesday, January 5, 2016. The Tennessee Aquarium IMAX is being converted from a standard 70mm projection theater into a cutting edge IMAX laser projection system theater complete with a 12-point audio system and 3D sound sphere. The renovations are expected to take nearly a month and cost $1.2 million dollars.

For nearly 10 years, chief projectionist Corey Cobb has spent long hours assembling the huge rolls of film, moving them by forklift and tending to the massive, noisy and somewhat cantankerous projector. Sunday, he threaded the many spindles and rollers of the giant Imax film projector for the last time to prepare for the decommissioning of the city's last film projector.

Beginning Monday, the theater closed for what is estimated to be about a month, during which time workers will remove the film projector and complete all of the upgrades, which involve leaving behind the old 70 mm film format and adopting state-of-the-art laser projection technology.

When the theater reopens in early February, Chattanooga will be home to the only Imax With Laser system in the Southeast.

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