The four-screen theatre in the Shelby County seat of Harlan in 1882 as Long’s Opera House. By 1930, the theatre was showing primarily movies and rebranded as the Harlan Theatre, which it is still known as today. In the 1990s, adjacent retail buildings were purchased to add two additional screens. In 2002, the original theatre was cut in half, and after time as a clothing store and liquor store, it was remodeled to house a fourth screen. The theatre has been owned by the Backer family for over 50 years.