For those few innocent souls who know and hate me – you KNOW there is no one out there their loves Highland Square more than me. I love love love it! I patronize the businesses, have worked to bringing business to the neighborhood, own real estate in the neighborhood, and mostly love its culture. BUT – we all have to face the cold hard fact of real estate (and life), not all buildings are made to last and should still be used as their originally intended purpose.
With that being said, it was brought to my attention that there is a petition going around to "Save the Highland Square Theater" AGAIN. The intent is to keep the theater from being torn down to create 25 parking spaces for Portage Path Elementary School. Here is the website to sign the petition to save the theater: http://savethehighland.com/ Could the Highland Square fanatics have it right this time or are they just being annoying?
I love the Highland Theater, the structure itself is amazing. It would be a loss for the community to lose this historical building BUT WITH THAT BEING SAID there are two sides to every story. It is fun to watch movies there but I feel sorry for the owners. For the 50 people that go to the theater PER MONTH to watch movies, I am SURE it does not cover the owner’s overhead costs. Between the theater's heating bills (although they have now closed for the winter to avoid the high bills), the cost of bringing in the movies, and paying people to clean and manage the theater, it cannot be a cheap venue to run.
My humble opinion there is a better use for the theater (and the land it sits on) other than a parking lot and is best described in words by one of my friends, this is what she wrote:
According to the website, the “goal” is to make the theater into a multi-use facility that can be accessed by the school for performances, aware ceremonies, etc., and by the community for meetings, charity events, private parties, as well as keeping it a place to show films, concerts and other entertainment. Whether this is realistic or not, and who exactly will be footing the bill for necessary renovations and who will then run the place, I don’t know. Part of that plan includes putting underground parking underneath the school to be accessed on South Highland Ave., which would provide parking for the school and the rest of the Square.
As a Highland Square resident, I certainly want a vibrant, community-oriented space, but in light of the fact we still don’t have a grocery store, no business has opened in the Two Amigos space and the other empty retail spaces, the impending demolishment of the old apartments there on Market (The Von and the Crescent – across from Angel Falls), you wonder what the future holds here.
I agree with what she wrote. All improvements done through the schools – we pay for. The cost of an underground parking lot alone would be approx $12 million. That does not include the cost of renovations or overhead costs.
This topic is definitely a hot subject and one that deserves a well thought out plan. In the end – do we really have control over what is going to happen……….. It is for you to decide!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
The theater situation is maddening. It's an interesting, historic structure, and it would be great if it could stay open as a movie theater. But that seems unlikely: if it is a viable business, why would it have closed for the winter, a season when it seems like people are more likely to go see movies?
A multi-use arts space or a repertory theater would be great, but does anyone — outside of the zealots, that is — honestly think that this could work? I can't speak to the local theater scene, but in terms of music, we already have Musica, The Matinee, Annabell's, Uncorked Wine Bar, and the Civic booking shows that are, for the most part, underattended. It is difficult to envision a viable model; even more difficult to think of a local figure or group who could run such a space, especially in this economy (and given the repairs and updates that the theater apparently needs).
I don't want the theater to turn into a parking lot. But the proposed solution on the Save The Highland website seems like an infeasible pipe dream. That's not surprising, sadly.
The (crazy) friend is Lisa Bostwick and as usual, she hasn't a clue. Demolish the theater and let go of the pipe dream that HS is the left bank of Paris. If the site becomes a parking lot, then so be it. Enough of this childish sillieness.
EASY THERE!!! While the quote is not from Lisa, the couple times I have meet her, I do feel she has the squares best intentions in mind. There is vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry for a reason!
This part of the city although rich in history is fallen to the times just like other parts of Akron. It is clear that the Mayor really has no intrest in bringing life back to this part of the city. i guess if you could JUMP off of highlandsquare then the mayor might just step up to the plate the and roll up his sleeves and get things done. But what do I know, my part of the city where I live is going down the tubes too.