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The Bethesda Theatre, formerly the Boro Theatre, has undergone months of renovations, and is almost ready to reopen after six years of vacancy.

Renovations are expected to be complete by Aug. 18, according to theater Executive Director Ray Cullom, in time for the theater’s Oct. 4 opening.

One of the biggest challenges, according to Cullom, was replicating the theater’s original look. Due to the theater’s designation on the National Register of Historic Places, the building’s facelift had to be consistent with the original design, right down to the wallpaper.

Designers studied old black and white photographs of the 1938 incarnation of the theater, and found a 2007 wallpaper that appropriately matched. During the renovation process, the ceiling was stripped of decades of grime to reveal the original paint.

The ceiling’s design was inspected and then replicated into a brilliantly intricate multi-color pattern, complete with murals.

Structural work on the theater’s interior began in January, including brand-new seats and lighting. The final cost of the project will approach $10 million, with $2 million of that coming from county and state tax credits.

‘‘The theater is going to be a jaw-dropping place,” Cullom said. ‘‘The challenge is focusing the people on the stage, and not the surroundings.”

Only a year after its initial opening, the theater changed its name to the Bethesda Theater, to better associate the cinema with its location. In the early 1980s, the name changed to the Bethesda Cinema ’N Drafthouse, a place where customers could grab a pizza and beer, and catch a flick. Before it closed in 2001, the theater was named Bethesda Theatre Café.

The theater has been on the National Registry of Historic Places since 1999, but its place on the list was challenged in 2004. After the completion of The Whitney, an apartment building that sits above Bethesda Theatre, the Art Deco Society of Washington sought to have the theater removed from the list, claiming the building’s historic value was lost.

The removal was unsuccessful however, as a 2005 vote by a state committee was deadlocked, thereby leaving the theater on the register.

Calls to the Art Deco Society were not returned in time for publication.

While the theater’s aesthetics may be a draw for theatergoers, Cullom hopes the performances themselves will also lure customers. There are no obstructed views in the 700-seat space.

His main goal is to make the theater, which will feature off-Broadway performances, as patron-friendly as possible.

‘‘My goal is to make an evening at the Bethesda Theatre as affordable as possible,” Cullom said. ‘‘There are going to be lots of $40 tickets. I want parents to be able to hire a babysitter and come see a show without having to save for months or break the bank.”

The theater will also feature a full-service bar, which in addition to drinks will also serve wraps, sandwiches and salads. For an 8 p.m. show, the bar will open at 5 p.m., and will stay open after each show until about midnight.

The bar area will be open to the public each night after the show.

‘‘I want to make the café area an artists hangout,” Cullom said. ‘‘Actors and artists can come and hang out, and, if [theatergoers] wait a half-hour after the show, the actors might come out and share a drink with them.”

Area businesses are also looking forward to the theater’s reopening.

Kevin Maloney, Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce chairman, said that within a few blocks of the theater there are nearly two dozen restaurants, all happy to pick up some extra business.

‘‘It’s going to fill restaurants in the late afternoon and early evening hours,” Maloney said. ‘‘Shops will see a boost because people will be walking to the shows from the Metro and parking lots.”

One Wisconsin Avenue restaurant, Philadelphia Mike’s deli, has already made changes to welcome customers after the theater’s performances let out.

‘‘We changed the hours to stay open until midnight on Friday and Saturday,” Etalem Gabrayasus, co-owner of the deli, said. ‘‘We’ll see how business is after [the Bethesda Theatre] open[s], and then maybe we’ll run some specials for the theatre customers.”

The first production at the theatre will be ‘‘I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” which will be the inaugural run for the show in the Washington, D.C., area. It opens Oct. 4.

The return of the theater will be a welcome sight to the burgeoning art community in Bethesda.

‘‘[The theater’s return] brings a synergism to Bethesda,” Maloney said. ‘‘Combined with the Roundhouse Theater, this helps Bethesda become an arts and entertainment center.”

Bethesda Theatre is owned by the Bethesda Cultural Alliance, a nonprofit organization. After management costs are paid to Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment, which is running the day-to-day operations of the theatre, the remaining profits, Cullom said, are planned to be used to finance educational arts grants.

‘‘People around here are very set on promoting Bethesda as an arts center for the D.C. area,” Cullom said. ‘‘I feel that anything we can do to bring people to Bethesda is a plus for the town.”