I hate it when this happens! We had 4 movies houses here in town and only 1 stands. The Wichita Theater (its now a live performace theatre) and the "shell" of the grand is across the street, but you'd never know it was a theater if someone dindt point it out. in th 80's the scraped all the plaster off the interior walls pushed it to the bottom of the sloped floor and leved out the floor with concrete. However in the attic of the building youcan still see where the Projection booth was.
We lost the 7th Street Theater here in Fort Worth, with many of us still protesting as the bulldozers actually knocked it down. Fortunately, a few old theater buildings have survived...but only because they've been turned into banks or some other commercial endeavor.
It's really a shame. They may need a little "prettying up" but most of these older buildings have a lot more character and are actually much better built than any of the dull, cookie-cutter strip malls that are put up in their place. If saved from the wrecking ball, I'd wager that many of the older buildings will still be standing when the newer ones have fallen to pieces.
One of the saddest things I find about America. As soon as something gets "old" it is torn down and replaced by something big, grey and new in a different area. Architecture is not preserved in the same way that it is here by our English Heritage Foundation. Buildings such as these would be listed by grade to protect them from neglect and demolition.
If this was indeed an actual architectural and cultural treasure - maybe it would have been worth saving. How do you know this wasn't a "cookie cutter" theater when it was built 77 years ago? I live down the street and have passed by this building a hundred times. It was falling apart, the roof was leaking, the inside rotting, the sidewalk was blocked off so falling brick didn't land on pedestrians. Sure, it had some fancy tile bits on the front but that it no way gave it any character. "Prettying up" would have not helped this sad sad building. The owner had let it crumble away for the last 13 years and seemed to think the property was worth a million dollars. Sorry, it wasn't. http://www.builtstlouis.net/avalon.html
I'm all for historic preservation. I own a 1937 brick house right behind an architectually AMAZING 1928 school building. St. Louis does have historic buildings worth saving - this is not one of them.
I hate it when this happens! We had 4 movies houses here in town and only 1 stands. The Wichita Theater (its now a live performace theatre) and the "shell" of the grand is across the street, but you'd never know it was a theater if someone dindt point it out. in th 80's the scraped all the plaster off the interior walls pushed it to the bottom of the sloped floor and leved out the floor with concrete. However in the attic of the building youcan still see where the Projection booth was.
ReplyDeletei feel really sad when historic landmarks are torn down to make way to malls and lifeless buildings.
ReplyDeleteWe lost the 7th Street Theater here in Fort Worth, with many of us still protesting as the bulldozers actually knocked it down. Fortunately, a few old theater buildings have survived...but only because they've been turned into banks or some other commercial endeavor.
ReplyDeleteIt's really a shame. They may need a little "prettying up" but most of these older buildings have a lot more character and are actually much better built than any of the dull, cookie-cutter strip malls that are put up in their place. If saved from the wrecking ball, I'd wager that many of the older buildings will still be standing when the newer ones have fallen to pieces.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOne of the saddest things I find about America. As soon as something gets "old" it is torn down and replaced by something big, grey and new in a different area. Architecture is not preserved in the same way that it is here by our English Heritage Foundation. Buildings such as these would be listed by grade to protect them from neglect and demolition.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.english-heritage.org.uk/caring/listing/listed-buildings/
If this was indeed an actual architectural and cultural treasure - maybe it would have been worth saving. How do you know this wasn't a "cookie cutter" theater when it was built 77 years ago? I live down the street and have passed by this building a hundred times. It was falling apart, the roof was leaking, the inside rotting, the sidewalk was blocked off so falling brick didn't land on pedestrians. Sure, it had some fancy tile bits on the front but that it no way gave it any character. "Prettying up" would have not helped this sad sad building. The owner had let it crumble away for the last 13 years and seemed to think the property was worth a million dollars. Sorry, it wasn't.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.builtstlouis.net/avalon.html
I'm all for historic preservation. I own a 1937 brick house right behind an architectually AMAZING 1928 school building. St. Louis does have historic buildings worth saving - this is not one of them.