Cornell Cinema screenings take place in the historic Willard Straight Theatre throughout the academic year. Built in 1925, our classic theatre space features red velvet curtains and beautiful fresco wall murals depicting Shakespearean scenes on one side and scenes from Greek classical theater on the other. Occasional screenings are held elsewhere on campus, including in Sage Chapel and on the Willard Straight Terrace.
Cornell Cinema is committed to providing the best quality film projection. We have the largest screen in Ithaca, Dolby Digital Surround Sound, and a state-of-the-art digital projector. We have capacity to show the highest-quality digital cinema (DCP), archival 35mm reel-to-reel prints, 16mm prints, 3D, and other digital formats.
Wheelchair and companion seating is available inside the theatre and there is a lift to move from the outer to the inner lobby. Patrons with mobility impairment are encouraged to use this lift as there are a number of stairs down to the inner lobby at the theatre entrance. The inner lobby also includes an accessible, gender-neutral washroom.
Our total capacity is 340 seats. Popcorn, candy, and beverages are available for purchase at the concessions stand inside our lobby at most Cornell Cinema events. We accept cash, credit card, and Apple Pay.
Parking
There are many nearby parking options for Cornell Cinema screenings. Most events take place after 5pm or on weekends when there are fewer restrictions in University parking lots.
Please always be sure to carefully read any posted signage carefully to avoid being ticketed!
The Willard Straight Hall Parking Lot is located directly outside Cornell Cinema. This parking lot is accessed from Campus Road by driving beneath the Cornell Health entrance (formerly Gannett Health Center). There are several handicapped accessible parking spaces as well.
The Anabel Taylor Lot is located on the other side of Campus Road, behind Anabel Taylor Hall. Some spaces in this parking lot are unrestricted after 5pm, but please be sure to read the signs carefully or you will be ticketed.
Additional parking for evening events (after 5pm) is typically available in Cornell parking lots on West Avenue and Edgemoor Lane, which can be accessed via South Avenue. On-street parking is available along South Avenue, Stewart Avenue, and West Avenue.
Please note that some of these options do require walking uphill and please always be sure to read any posted signage carefully to avoid being ticketed.
Parking is also available at the Hoy Parking Garage, where there is ample space and parking is free after 5pm. It's a less than 10-minute walk to Willard Straight Hall.
Willard Straight Theatre
Willard Straight Theatre is located on the ground level of Willard Straight Hall.
If you are arriving from the Ho Plaza level, you will need to take the stairs or elevator down to Level 1 and you will find our Cornell Cinema Box Office window at the end of the hall on the left. If you are arriving from the Willard Straight Hall parking lot, Cornell Cinema is straight ahead when you enter through the brown doors.
Directions to Willard Straight Hall
From Collegetown:
- Take College Avenue into the Cornell campus.
- At the Main Quad, turn left onto Campus Road.
- The Willard Straight parking lot is your first right, through the Cornell Health entrance.
From Downtown Ithaca
- Take Buffalo Street up the hill to Stewart Avenue (flashing yellow light).
- Turn left on Stewart.
- At Campus Road, bear right.
- Head up Campus Road to the Willard Straight Hall parking lot on your left (through Cornell Health entrance).
- Enter Willard Straight Hall through the doors at the end of the Parking Lot. The Theatre is just ahead!
Sage Chapel
Cornell Cinema hosts one or two special events each semester in Sage Chapel. This magnificent, non-denominational chapel was designed by Charles Babcock, Cornell’s first professor of architecture, in 1875, with additions to the building in 1898, 1905 and 1940. There are Tiffany windows, memorial windows to war veterans and one to the civil rights workers murdered together during the Freedom Summer of 1964: Michael Schwerner '61, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman.
Sage Chapel also features Cornell's largest organ, an Aoelian-Skinner installed in 1940, which sometimes features in our screenings there. Seating capacity is 748.
