I am all for saving part of a theater when you can’t save the whole thing…that is a reality of the modern world. But, why isn’t the whole building being reused, if it has such a place in community history? I’ve seen pictures of the inside…and it looks beat up. But, no more beat up than other buildings that have been restored.
Concerned Taxpayer is shifty. That much is certain. What is your deal, Concerned Taxpayer? I figure you are either a real estate developer…or someone who simply gains pleasure from bothering others…maybe both.
All I am saying is, keep it real guys. I have seen preservationists fail because they had great ideas, but no grounding in fundamental business principals. I would guess you have collectively spent ten hours arguing with this Taxpayer guy…even going so far as to invoke the memory of Adolf Hitler while doing it. That’s not a good use of time, nor does it make the larger community take you seriously. What if you had spent ten hours cold-calling suburban Chicago companies to solicit donations? You would have gotten some good leads out of it, and maybe a check.
I hope you succeed…but you will only succeed with a lot of intelligent action and some luck…because this place is part of a corporate business venture from the 20’s that has gone through growth, maturity and decline. There’s no arguing that. You are trying to find an intelligent place for it in today’s society.
And if you fight the good fight, and do not win…I hope the community at least sees fit to save a section of the building.
I don’t know all the details of this situation, nor do I have time to learn them. But, that’s my whole point…not that the place must be torn down.
Forget about this Concerned Taxpayer…fight intelligently…and good luck!
You’ve got me wrong guys. I hope you save the place…and I don’t care if tax dollars are used or not. But you need a solid plan from start to finish…how to fund the project, intelligent management plan after the job is done. These places don’t thrive nowadays without a lot of effort. If proper reuse does not materialize, these buildings decay. Teenagers and homeless people break into them. The owners barely maintain them, because they aren’t money-makers. They become a burden to the community…and a lively mall is better than having a building like that dropping terra cotta chunks on people. There were once hundreds of old-time theaters in the Chicago area. We have some great show places…the Palace, Chicago, Oriental, Auditorium, and others. But, there isn’t a place for hundreds of them in today’s entertainment business…and, it’s better to save the front of one…like the Belmont, or half of one…like the Gateway…than to tear the whole place down.
Furthermore…I think you guys could find better things to do than rip eachother on this web site. The concerned tax payer likes to aggravate you, and you play along.
You know…I’m not familiar with the entire story. But, I’ll say this: the time for these buildings has passed. If creative reuse can be achieved using all or part of the building, fabulous. But it must be realistic in the modern world. Otherwise, tear the place down and build something else…and this is coming from a guy who’s related to people that designed these theaters left & right back in the twenties. Chicago has fared well, as cities with restored theaters go. We should save some…but, we can’t save them all…it’s like trying to make a guy drive a Model T down the Kennedy to his job every day.
I am all for saving part of a theater when you can’t save the whole thing…that is a reality of the modern world. But, why isn’t the whole building being reused, if it has such a place in community history? I’ve seen pictures of the inside…and it looks beat up. But, no more beat up than other buildings that have been restored.
Concerned Taxpayer is shifty. That much is certain. What is your deal, Concerned Taxpayer? I figure you are either a real estate developer…or someone who simply gains pleasure from bothering others…maybe both.
All I am saying is, keep it real guys. I have seen preservationists fail because they had great ideas, but no grounding in fundamental business principals. I would guess you have collectively spent ten hours arguing with this Taxpayer guy…even going so far as to invoke the memory of Adolf Hitler while doing it. That’s not a good use of time, nor does it make the larger community take you seriously. What if you had spent ten hours cold-calling suburban Chicago companies to solicit donations? You would have gotten some good leads out of it, and maybe a check.
I hope you succeed…but you will only succeed with a lot of intelligent action and some luck…because this place is part of a corporate business venture from the 20’s that has gone through growth, maturity and decline. There’s no arguing that. You are trying to find an intelligent place for it in today’s society.
And if you fight the good fight, and do not win…I hope the community at least sees fit to save a section of the building.
I don’t know all the details of this situation, nor do I have time to learn them. But, that’s my whole point…not that the place must be torn down.
Forget about this Concerned Taxpayer…fight intelligently…and good luck!
Looks like a great job. Good luck to the Genesee!
You’ve got me wrong guys. I hope you save the place…and I don’t care if tax dollars are used or not. But you need a solid plan from start to finish…how to fund the project, intelligent management plan after the job is done. These places don’t thrive nowadays without a lot of effort. If proper reuse does not materialize, these buildings decay. Teenagers and homeless people break into them. The owners barely maintain them, because they aren’t money-makers. They become a burden to the community…and a lively mall is better than having a building like that dropping terra cotta chunks on people. There were once hundreds of old-time theaters in the Chicago area. We have some great show places…the Palace, Chicago, Oriental, Auditorium, and others. But, there isn’t a place for hundreds of them in today’s entertainment business…and, it’s better to save the front of one…like the Belmont, or half of one…like the Gateway…than to tear the whole place down.
Furthermore…I think you guys could find better things to do than rip eachother on this web site. The concerned tax payer likes to aggravate you, and you play along.
You know…I’m not familiar with the entire story. But, I’ll say this: the time for these buildings has passed. If creative reuse can be achieved using all or part of the building, fabulous. But it must be realistic in the modern world. Otherwise, tear the place down and build something else…and this is coming from a guy who’s related to people that designed these theaters left & right back in the twenties. Chicago has fared well, as cities with restored theaters go. We should save some…but, we can’t save them all…it’s like trying to make a guy drive a Model T down the Kennedy to his job every day.