Golden State

Here's what Michael Moore did with the downtown theater in his town:
Under the leadership of Michael Moore, the shuttered historic downtown movie house State Theatre of Traverse City, Michigan was completely renovated and reopened it in November 2007. Volunteer groups run it, so on a given night, you'll have a judge or a social worker behind the popcorn machine or in the ticket booth. Candy is $1 and popcorn $2. It's full all the time with a population of only 16,000, and voted the most successful theater in the Country by the Motion Picture Association of America.
Is there the public will to do this here? http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mike-friends-blog/how-weve-made-state-theatre-traverse-city-one-greatest-movie-theaters-earth

The festival now owns and operates the State as a year-round, community-based, mission-driven, and volunteer-staffed art house movie theater. The State shows great independent films year-round, along with lots of special programming, including a Friday Night Flicks series and weekly 25 cent kids and classic matinees!

I have a rather unique perspective on the Monterey State. In 1992, I put my money where my mouth was and installed the exceedingly rare Wurlitzer pipe organ in the State. This was in the days when UA had the theatre. UA did not take very good care of the theatre, but they were wonderful people to work with.

UA bid farewell in Sept. 2004 when the new Del Monte 13 cinemas went on line. Trying to preserve the Wurlitzer, I was looking for every possible way to save the theatre. The local State Theatre Preservation Group, on paper, may have had good intentions, but it was obvious they could not get out of their own way. A "savior" with money was needed.

For better or worse, I found that person in the present owner of the theatre. There were several options on the table--Monterey Jazz Festival wanted to create a jazz center patterned on a theatre restored in Santa Fe' NM. Their plan included demoilishing the stage and doubling the stage size to the sidewalk on Tyler St. In many respects, this compromised the historic integrity of the theatre. Besides, there is never a stage large enough!

The City of Monterey had its chance at the theatre in 1975 and turned it down. UA did what was needed to keep the theatre viable, installing those horrid cracker box walls in the balcony, creating those two crummy "theatres."

I will give the devil his due--the present owner of the State beautifully removed those walls. Though he prefers to take credit for it, there was a great deal of restoration done at the State under the auspices of UA before the present owner came on the scene.

We put on a dozen or so very successful silent film with pipe organ accompaniment at the State from 1994 to 2004 when the present owner took over. I owned the organ from 1989 to 2005 when it became very clear that the new owner of the State was immposible to work with and I sold my interest in the organ to him. The organ is still there, buried under the stage apron floor, but it has not been used in at least 3-4 years. The present owner has no interest in allowing the use of the organ.

I have great reservations in the City of Monterey buying the theatre--only from the standpoint of them compromising the historic integrity of the theatre with added an added on stage, likely removal of the organ and who knows what else.

I quite agree with Ms. Colburn that the spending of that monumental sum of money at the Conference Center, destroying the wonderful Steinbeck Forum. If the City has $34m to blow on the Conference Center, the purchase of the State would be a bargain--and get the present owner OUT of there. My only reservation is that the City does not get spend crazy on the State and ruin its historic integrity.

I would love to see the old Wurlitzer brought back to life--pipe organs such as that were the voices of these old silent film/vaudeville palaces on 80+ years ago. Many civic ownerships have shown these old palaces can be owned and utilized by City ownership...just don't mess up the place!

Tom DeLay (Monterey native)