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New life for Loew’s?Group has 90 days to raise $65,000By RICHARD G. CASEWill the lights go on again behind the darkened marquee of downtown Syracuse's Last Picture Show?A group of citizens interested in preserving Loew’s Theater as a working city center landmark began to struggle with that question yesterday.Last week they finally reached an agreement putting their money where their thoughts have been during the two years the future of the 49-year-old “movie palace has been at question.Syracuse Area Landmark Theatre (SALT) Friday reached a purchase agreement with the owner of Loew's, 362 Salma Street Corp., to buy the closed movie theater wing for $65,000 within 90 days.If SALT fails, the owners said they will return to their plan to demolish the 3,000-seat theater and turn that section of the Loew Building on Salina Street into a small shopping mall.What are the prospects?“We believe Syracuse and Central New York should be able to come through and help us save this magnificent movie palace, said Joyce Schriever, SALT president.She said the non-profit group wants toSALT ts looking for donations of time and money to “help save Loew's,”The group has set up a special phone number to receive help from the community: 446 6011.reopen Loew's as a working theater. To do this, SALT will seek community donations, as well as foundation and other sup-port.But beyond that buoyant optimism lies the economic reality that Loew’s, when it was owned by the movie chain, failed to pay its bills and eventually was closed.The reality of the downtown market.The reality of new Civic Center, and the War Memorial auditorium, catering to live entertainment and convention needs.“We won't reopen Loew’s as a first-run movie house,” SALT lawyer Peter Baum # explained. “What we have in mind is to book live entertainment, as well as special films and conventions. We have a lot of ideas. _Scots revel at annual\UtAmong these is understood to be use as a television studio for the newly-chartered cable system in Syracuse; by a community theater group; as the site of specialized film festivals, road shows and benefit programs, as well as an “Entertainment Hall of Fame.SALT is discussing prospects with the Empire State Theatre and Musical Instrument Museum, now housed at the State Fairgrounds, and the national organization of theater historians.City Councilor Armond Magnarelli, one of the organizers of SALT, said he feels the theater's lower lobby would be a good spot for the cable tv studio and he has discussed the possibility with the firm just awarded the city contract.Both he and Mrs. Schreiver said they feel there is room for Loew’s among Syracuse theaters and the size of the house would give it a booking for certain types of show s.“I don’t feel it would be in competition with the Civic Center,” Magnarelli said. “They are pretty well hooked.”He said he thought Loew’s could offer an advantage of concessions that other theaters, including the Civic Center, do not-“That’s where you make the money, he said. “You give whoever books a show a percentage of the concessions.Mrs. Schriever, Magnarelli and others sat down to map the fund-raising campaign yesterday. SALT'S president said the group will follow some of the methods used elsewhere to develop a non-profit booking capability.She cited the examples of Buffalo. Ithaca, Columbus and other cities in which citizen groups were able to buy old theaters closed by the chains and revitalize them.In Utica, for example, the Central New York Council of the Performing Arts raised $135,000 to buy a Warner Bros, “movie palace, the Stanley, opened in 1927 and designed by the same architect as Loew's, Thomas Lamb. The reopened house is called Stanley Performing Arts Center.SALT already has a study in hand showing financial possibilities for operating Loew’s. It also has grants to support an architectual study.“The building is in pretty good shape, Mrs. Schriever said, “To reopen on a limited basis, all it needs is a good cleaning. We’d like to try to reopen late next month or in early October.”One of the likely prospects of a revitalized Loew’s is cooperation with the city’s established community theater, Salt City Playhouse. Playhouse Executive Director Joseph Lotito said yesterday, “We will cooperate In any way possible with SALT,the deeper our involvemernt, the better.We need it.”At present, however, he said this probably would fall short of moving downtown.The playhouse currently rents a former synagogue on University Hill from the city and is proposing to buy the property.But, Lotito said, “Loew’s is a fantastic place for musicals and we do four of those a year. Also for concerts. I think there are a lot of possibilities'for expanding our ef- , forts downtown.Among other possibilities being discussed for Loew's is replacement of the jhuge theater organ that once was part of ,the house. (Of the original trappings, only the organ and chandelier were sold by the movie chain before the structure was purchased by Salina Corp.) |Harris Cooper, a SALT board member, ssaid the Loew’s organ was sold to a private collector and it is in storage in California. “We might try to get that back or a simitiar organ, he explained.Board members indicated that the immediate goal is to raise the $65,000 pur- ;chase price. The owners asked that a j“good faith payment of $1,000 be made IFriday and that evidence of at least j$25,000 be shown within two months. jAttorney Baum said physical restoration of the house, including replacement of seats, is a long-range goal, to be accomplished gradually. Since Loew’s was declared a National Landmark in June, SALT, as owner, would be eligibe for matching federal restoration grants.Early estimates, Baum said, indicate SALT would be able to operate the theater at a yearly break-even budget of about $162,000, all from rental revenues.SALT members already are canvassing area groups and promoters to test the level of use if the theater reopened.Baum said an early commitment came from the Syracuse Symphony-Famous Artists series, for six to 10 nights a year.SALT members plan to use a variety of approaches to fund-raising, from “turning the theater box office into a large donation box” to approaching a local family, foundation or business about the idea of renaming the theater in return for a major donation that would cover the cost of pur-chase.Loew’s, when it went dark in the fall of 1976, was one of only two movie houses left in downtown Syracuse. Since then the other, the Eckei-Biograph, closed too.Loew’s, when it opened in 1928, was said to be considered the architect’s finest achievement among the period’s gaudy film theaters. Lamb likened the grand foyer to a “temple of gold set with coloredjewels.
Newspaper Details
Syracuse Herald American
Syracuse, New York, US
Sun, Aug 14, 1977
Page 58
Full Page
Clipped by
Michael I.
USA 21 Oct 2019
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