From the Chicago Sun Times:<P><B>Uptown Theatre rehab to help community <P>July 30, 2001<P>BY HEDY WEISS THEATER CRITIC <P>A grand theatrical white elephant, or a uniquely beautiful and potentially thrilling cornerstone of neighborhood redevelopment? That is the question.</B><P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>With the announcement Friday that Albert Ivar Goodman (of Goodman Theatre renown) has contributed the first $1 million toward the rehabilitation of the Uptown Theatre, the salvation of a major theatrical landmark seems closer than ever to becoming a reality. So does the promise of turning around a neighborhood that is among the most diverse, vibrant and problem-ridden in the city.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.suntimes.com/output/show/cst-ftr-hedy30.html" TARGET=_blank><B>MORE...</B></A><P>This is an interesting question. I just finished reading an autobiography by Michael Eisner, CEO of Disney, called "Work in Progress" in which he details such a change happening with Disney's purchase of a very run down theater in the Times Square area of New York. <P>I could be wrong (not being very familiar with New York - I was last there in 1962) but I think it was in the 42nd Street theater area. (I returned the book to the libary so I can't check out the exact name and location of the theater.) The Disney purchase of the theater and rehabilitating it and using it for live shows precipitated the reclamation of the entire area.<P>It's a very interesting book by the way. And an interesting concept.<P><BR>

Not sure about New York, but that is now part of my new project - though "rehabbing" may be the wrong connotation when you talk about a beachside community in Orange County.<P>It IS a renovation project that SHOULD bring about some pretty significant cultural changes though, and lend a lot to changing a community's self-image.<P>In New Orleans, building a contemporary art center in the middle of a warehouse district DID make a major impact on the community. It has definitely shed its industrial/run-down persona for a trendy, upscale center for arts, crafts, housing and dining.

Some people feel that a sports facility also helps to upgrade/renovate a neighborhood. <P>Which do you thing would work better - a theater or a sports facility?

There are some abominable examples of venerable sports venues that exist in the worst parts of great cities. In fact, I believe that one or more baseball teams are pressuring their cities to build them new stadiums in better parts of town, because their fans are becoming less likely to travel to those destinations.<P>Perhaps the client base is not the kind that adds additional activities to a sports outing (dinner, entertainment, shopping, etc -- before or after).<P>While with a theatre, perhaps those participating are (in general terms - please don't PC me): a) more upscale; b) more likely to see the outing as PART of the experience - not all of it; and c) more open to a variety of experiences, as long as they are geographically convenient as opposed to similar in nature.<P>Just an observation.<P>

In San Diego, one of the cities pressured into building a new, and in my view, unneeded baseball stadium because we already have one, this is being built at the expense of the arts.<P>It is being built in downtown in an area in which the city for years encouraged artists to live and work. There is loft space in this area and whilst being being close to the center of town, it is just off to the side enough, that rents were moderately affordable. After years of encouragement, the practioners of many different arts forms did set up working and living quarters there.<P>Now, those very lofts are being torn down to make way for this baseball park, with a couple more hotels to accommodate what we are told will be a further influx of tourists just to see the baseball games. We are also being told that this will enhance the economics of downtown for the many restaurants and shops of the Gas Lamp District.<P>I have my doubts. I think generally speaking, people like to eat their hot dogs (ok with guacamolé LOL) at the ball park while watching the game - not in some higher priced restaurant down the street. This will also have a very negative impact on traffic and parking in what are fairly small oneway downtown streets. This area is just perfect for theater, and other arts activities.<P> But, money talks and the sports entities have it and the artists don't. So the artists are being uprooted with no where to go.<P>Don't get me wrong I am a BIG baseball fan.

I am all for new arts centres but I wonder if the 'rehabilitation' of a neighbourhood into a 'trendy, upscale centre' doesn't displace the people that already live in the neighbourhood. The Firehall Arts Centre is located in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, a neighbourhood that boasts the highest per capita heroin use in North America and is predominantly populated by people on social assistance. There is an inherent irony in watching artists performing works with social commentary within the safe confines of the theatre, or even works that are simply beautiful when you know there are people outside the theatre who, even if they could afford a ticket, would find little to identify with on stage. I devote a lot of time to championing the arts, and believe strongly in its relevance in all levels of society, but the gentrification of a neighbourhood by an arts centre makes me little uneasy--I suddenly feel very white and middle class.

Marie, I think the whole question of gentrification is: "what is the *intention of the group/business" which is moving into the neighborhood. If they provide an important service, and attempt to become involved with and contribute to their community, I dont' know if I would classify that as "gentrification". The problem is when "Ma and Pa" type businesses are pushed out (property values and rising rents) by Starbucks places. <BR>Artists have always had the problem of finding the funky neighborhoods, making them attractive and vital and then getting bumped out by the professionals and big chain businesses. Or sports stadiums. <BR>Sometimes I DO get the guilt pangs when I compare our needs/wants in the arts, to people who are homeless or abused. I feel frivolous. What I try to do is COMBINE those two needs together: I founded a community arts program for "at risk" youth in my neighborhood. It was incredibly eye-opening for all involved....I learned more from the kids than they learned from me, I think!<p>[This message has been edited by trina (edited August 01, 2001).]

Disney in Times Square has certainly made a major change in the 42nd Street area in New York. Prior to the rehab, though, this area was mostly commercial, and not the kind of commerce you'd want to be around. A lot of crime, a lot of adult bookstores, movies, peep shows, etc. Just yesterday I heard on the radio that some of this commerce has relocated to certain areas in Brooklyn. Anyway, the point is that I don't think this was a highly residential area, so I don't think a lot of residents were displaced. And it is a logical southern extension of the Broadway theater district. Since it is near major bus and train stations, and near the theater district, it is a welcome change as far as I'm concerned.<P>Then there's Newark, New Jersey. NJPAC (New Jersey Center for the Performing Arts) went up there a few years ago. The hope has been that it will raise revenues and provide jobs for local residents. It wasn't a rehab, I don't think. I believe they built from the ground up. It is a magnificent center with two theaters (that I know of) and a top-rate restaurant. From what I have read, they are having trouble filling the houses for many performances, including the dance subscriptions. To get to the complex, you have to drive all the way through downtown Newark, which is not a particularly safe or scenic trip. NJPAC seems to be this little enclave surrounded by ghetto. There is talk of a sports complex going up near the theaters. That may have a bigger impact on the area.

So how does one go about rehabilitating a neighborhood? maybe not the residential section - but the areas zoned commercial?<P>

That's going on in our neighborhood right now. There's a local theater, very beautiful old Baroque-ish one, seats 1400, being renovated. It was barely saved in the 1980's, I believe, having been scheduled for demolition. It now boasts an adjunct performing arts school for children. Additionally, various big-name performers now include it on their circuit. The state has given it a grant for a large, and final, renovation project.<P>Right next door is a brand new facility for a pre-professional ballet school. (The head of the theater is a former ballet dancer with Washington Ballet, who trained at this school). It's practically the largest building in town, housing ballet students chosen through national audition tours. It also houses a music conservatory.<P>The two organizations - theater and ballet/music conservatory - are spearheading a neighborhood arts group, of which we belong as the Irish dance school in town. All the area arts groups, and there are quite a number of us, large and small, meet to discuss the general shape of what we all hope is the future of the town. It's a sleepy old town, full of empty storefronts. The city has hired a planner and architect to decide how to revitalize the town. Their plans? They've put together a blueprint that has the theater and ballet school/music conservatory as the flagship center of town. It's the most comprehensive of any of the plans that've appeared over the last two decades. And before, neither of the two organizations were solidly enough on their feet to be considered the mainstays of the town. <P>So it's going to be an interesting run. There are a number of hurdles to overcome, the biggest of which is the fact that the neighboring wealthy communities still haven't discovered this little city. Until they do, I don't think it stands a chance. This is a rural area, not much population to draw from. Still, this looks to be the biggest hope the community's had since its heyday as a factory town.<P>

It seems to me from what I have observed having travelled somewhat extensively across the United States, is that many of the smaller towns have been devastated by the introduction of a new strip mall just outside the town, usually headed by a superstore such as Walmart. When that happens, very soon the heart of the little town dies.<P>The prices are usually cheaper at the Walmart and you can't blame people from going there and doing their one-stop-buys-all shopping - with those lower prices to boot. So how to revive the old heart of the little town? <P>Many have discovered that the one thing they can fall back on is their history. Some have initiated "historical walks" with brochures, plaques and markers describing the history of the place. They call attention to unique architecture of time and place, and their individuality in the historical scheme of things.<P>This often starts a trend of small shops opening and offering what the large superstores cannot - color, ambience, uniqueness. Craft stores, antique shops, used and new book shops, cafes open. And art stores and schools. <P> A candle shop begins to offer lessons in candle making. A old fashioned barber shop offers a barber shop quartet. Cafes offer a place for friends to meet. It is people friendly in a way the large merchandiser is often not.<P>And up stairs, if one looks up as one walks by, are dance studios, music schools, and artists lofts. Whilst below the artist paintings fill the sidewalks. <P>What I have described above not only happens in smaller towns, but in the hearts of the larger cities. I saw it happen in Philadelphia's Historic area and San Diego's Gas Lamp District. It is often the artists, craftsmen, and such who revitalize an area that has died an economic death due to modern shopping habits.<P>A sports facility that is built primarily as a focus for revitalization does not have the same effect. A stadium/arena has walls and that walls out the surrounding area instead of integrating it. I think such a facility can be part of the scheme, but not the focus of it.<P>

From <B>Lofty Ideals - Ill-conceived legislation creates both Artaud collective and yuppie lofts</B> by Carol Lloyd in the SF Gate web site:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>It all started in 1971 when a motley array of artists and performers rented a half-century-old machine shop at Alabama and 17th streets and moved into its cavernous spaces with tents and blankets as wall divisions. A year later, insurance payments for fire damage allowed the group to put a down payment on the building, which was available for about $400,000. Honoring the radical French theater artist, they named their new home Project Artaud.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2001/08/14/lloyd.DTL" TARGET=_blank><B>more...</B></A>

The Artaud is a success story. Not only is it a thriving -- albeit it small -- theater, it has encouraged the growth of a small artsy community and restaurants around it.<P>Here's the theatre's web site:<P><B><A HREF="http://www.theaterartaud.org/" TARGET=_blank>www.theaterartaud.org</A></B><p>[This message has been edited by Azlan (edited August 14, 2001).]

Has anyone else noticed what Borders Books has been doing? There was this really nice Spanish classical movie theater in affluent downtown Palo Alto that had been closed for a long time. Borders moved in, much to the dismay of some residents. As it turns out, Borders has been doing the same in other communities as well.<P>I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Does an affluent neighborhood need a commercial powerhouse like Borders? But then again, the closed theater was a sore point to the community.<P>One good thing that has come of development in Palo Alto though is that some of it has spilled over into the ecomomically-challenged ghetto of East Palo Alto.

In a couple of impoverished neighborhoods in San Diego, several things have been tried....new stores...a mall...nothing seems to work. A new supermarket was literally thieved out of business.<P>But one thing that helped one neighborhood, surprisingly, was a brand new branch library. It has been very successful. <P> In the summer the library brings in entertainers of many kinds to start off the summer reading program. No dancers - just not enough room, I suppose.