Story Created:
Jun 4, 2009 at 12:00 PM PST
Story Updated:
Jun 4, 2009 at 12:00 PM PST
DOWNEY — A group of artistic and nostalgic young people, many in their 20s, are calling for the preservation of the 75-year-old Avenue Theater, 11022 Downey Ave., for use as a community theater, art and cultural center.
They spoke during the audience participation part of the May 26 City Council meeting so council members could not comment under the Brown Act. Later, however, some officials said that while not rejecting the plan outright, a number of financial, health and safety problems exist in connection with the old building.
The city recently purchased the theater and the nearby Verizon office building — both vacant — with an eye toward a mixed residential and commercial development to enhance the city’s downtown area, generally Downey Avenue from Firestone Boulevard to Fifth Street.
Noting that residential units must be part of any plan because the city used federal HOME funds for the purchase, historic preservation activist George Redfox urged the council to find a compromise to include dwellings and an arts and cultural center.
A second resident, Gary Head, supported Redfox, saying a cultural arts center with evening activities and events would revitalize the downtown area. He said the use of the nearby Downey Civic Theatre, 8435 Firestone Blvd., is too expensive for community theatrical groups because it costs about $5,000 a night to rent.
“Downey has nothing for its youth,” said Wade Wilson, one of people who addressed the council May 26.
A former Downey couple, now in their early 20s and living in Whittier, recalled the good times of their youth hanging out at the movie theater.
They got some support from longtime resident Harold Tseklenis, who noted that the city could lease the facility to someone to operate it.
But another older resident, Richard Pridham, noted safety concerns. “You can go to any part of that building and pull out a brick,” he said.
Commenting later, City Manager Gerald Caton said the council would take a look at the proposals.
“There are some good ideas but we would need someone to pull it all together,” Caton said. “We have a hiring freeze and our staff is down six percent. Also the building would need to be retrofitted [to withstand an earthquake].”
“We might be able to preserve the front part of the building but the funds are not there,” Mayor Mario Guerra said.
The former theater building, vacant since 2004, has 9,240 square feet of space. It fronts on Downey Avenue but abuts Third Street on the north side.
With just one screen, the theater could not compete with the new, 12-screen Krikorian Theatre, which opened several blocks to the west on Third Street several years ago.
Plans by a developer to turn the building into a restaurant/nightclub several years ago were halted by a lawsuit from the adjoining First Baptist Church, which feared patrons would use its limited parking space.
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