Zabrina is absolutely right when she calls for us to patronize the neighborhood theatres instead of the megascreens downtown. More importantly, we need to have operators who want the individual theaters to be successful. In my 16 years in the Union St. neighborhood, I never once saw any kind of promotion for a movie at the Metro. I thought that perhaps this would change after the theater was renovated but, in fact, things got worse as rumors of the theater’s demise grew stronger. It remains a mystery to me that someone would sink serious money into upgrading a building as a theater and then immediately begin talking about closing it (those in the know, please explain this to me).
What’s happening at the Balboa Theater is what the Metro needs – someone who cares about movies instead of real estate and is willing to put some effort into increasing patronage (this for a theater that doesn’t hold a candle to the Metro in terms of physical plant and location). I don’t know how it’s working out there, but I do know that the Metro could use activities like discounts; deals with local parking establishments, restaurants and stores; talks by film directors, and the activities described by Zabrina. Something to get a buzz going about the theater. I’m not giving up hope that something great can be created in our neighborhood.
Are we giving up on this? I was stunned to see the Metro closed today as i walked along Union Street. This is a beautiful, recently-renovated theater; not like some of the others that are still standing. Is the Theater Foundation giving up without a fight? I hope not. Unlike others, I’m less concerned that it remain a single-screen theater: if it needs to have 3 screens to survive, I prefer that to condominiums. What do we need to do to keep this beautiful theater going?
Zabrina is absolutely right when she calls for us to patronize the neighborhood theatres instead of the megascreens downtown. More importantly, we need to have operators who want the individual theaters to be successful. In my 16 years in the Union St. neighborhood, I never once saw any kind of promotion for a movie at the Metro. I thought that perhaps this would change after the theater was renovated but, in fact, things got worse as rumors of the theater’s demise grew stronger. It remains a mystery to me that someone would sink serious money into upgrading a building as a theater and then immediately begin talking about closing it (those in the know, please explain this to me).
What’s happening at the Balboa Theater is what the Metro needs – someone who cares about movies instead of real estate and is willing to put some effort into increasing patronage (this for a theater that doesn’t hold a candle to the Metro in terms of physical plant and location). I don’t know how it’s working out there, but I do know that the Metro could use activities like discounts; deals with local parking establishments, restaurants and stores; talks by film directors, and the activities described by Zabrina. Something to get a buzz going about the theater. I’m not giving up hope that something great can be created in our neighborhood.
Are we giving up on this? I was stunned to see the Metro closed today as i walked along Union Street. This is a beautiful, recently-renovated theater; not like some of the others that are still standing. Is the Theater Foundation giving up without a fight? I hope not. Unlike others, I’m less concerned that it remain a single-screen theater: if it needs to have 3 screens to survive, I prefer that to condominiums. What do we need to do to keep this beautiful theater going?