[Peace-discuss] News-Gazette article Boardman ART Theater

[E. Wayne Johnson]

/*"a decent local government would seize the property by eminent domain"*/

Zowie!  Il Duce!  And here I was thinking that Urbana was fascist...

The issue seems to be one of technology. 
Perhaps there is little remaining reason for obsolete theatres to 
encumber the ground.

Films displaced live performances. 
TV, home video technology, DVD,  chip media, youtube are superseding and 
displacing movie theatres.
You don't have to leave your home, you can pause and go to the 
refrigerator, the microwave, or the toilet,
and rewind, watch as many times as you like,
no waiting in lines, no hassling with ticket windows and ticket takers,
and you yourself can decide what you want to watch and when you want to 
watch it.
Further it costs a small fortune to take the family to the Savoy 16, and 
if watching the movie
is the goal, it might be better stewardship to do so at home.

Movie houses were popular at one time not because they had movies but 
because they
were air conditioned and were a cheap way to escape from the summer heat.

Robert Naiman wrote:
> I will be very sorry to see Greg Boardman go. Often, progressive folks
> asked him to bring something and he brought it. doesn't that deserve
> some loyalty? and how many film festivals do they have at the Savoy?
>
> Another restaurant or bar? that would be a huge loss to the community.
> a decent local government would seize the property by eminent domain
> to prevent that from happening.
>
>
> On Mon, Jul 21, 2008 at 6:51 AM, Marti Wilkinson <martiwilki at gmail.com> wrote:
>   
>> I hate to say this, but I have grown to prefer the crass commercialism of
>> multiplex cinemas. The only thing I really remember about the Art Theater
>> growing up is that it was one of two movie houses that showed snuff films.
>> Personally  I think Champaign is better off focusing on keeping the Virginia
>> Theater going with a combination of plays, movies, and the local Ebert Fest.
>>
>> If anyone does decide to take the place over...it still needs a lot of
>> work............
>>
>> On Mon, Jul 21, 2008 at 12:29 AM, Stuart Levy <slevy at ncsa.uiuc.edu> wrote:
>>     
>>> On Mon, Jul 21, 2008 at 02:42:42AM +0000, jandurl at comcast.net wrote:
>>>       
>>>> It's your business: Owner looks at options for the Art
>>>> Sunday July 13, 2008
>>>> David Kraft figures it's going to take some time to find the right
>>>> person to
>>>> take over his historic downtown Champaign movie theater.  So he's
>>>> starting
>>>> his search early.  Kraft said Greg Boardman, the current operator of the
>>>> 240-seat Art Theater at 126 W. Church St., has declined to continue
>>>> after his
>>>> contract ends at the end of 2009.  "I offered it to him for three more
>>>> years,
>>>> and he was not interested," he added.  That three years would have been
>>>> at a
>>>> higher rate, Kraft said, but not nearly the level of increase the city
>>>> imposed on downtown parking.
>>>>         
>>> "not nearly the level of increase"?  So he's patting himself on the back
>>> for
>>> not tripling the rent?  Maybe he's only doubling it.  What rubbish.
>>>
>>>       
>>>> Boardman, who has operated the theater since
>>>> 2003, didn't respond to questions regarding the theater.  Kraft, who
>>>> once
>>>> operated the Princess Theatre in LeRoy, contends the Art is in a
>>>> desirable
>>>> location, given all the redevelopment taking place in the vicinity.
>>>>  He's
>>>> looking for "an experienced, credible, financially stable" operator
>>>> willing
>>>> to pay market or near-market rent, he said.  His first choice is to see
>>>> the
>>>> vintage movie house remain a theater, he added, but he'll consider all
>>>> options, including a sale that would involve a different use of the
>>>> property.
>>>>         
>>> It'll be a sad day if that theater is taken over to become another pricey
>>> restaurant
>>> just to fatten Kraft.  He drove out Tom, the previous New Art operator,
>>> and now
>>> it may well be that he's happy to drive out Greg Boardman too.
>>>
>>>       
>>>> -------------- Original message --------------
>>>> From: "C. G. Estabrook" <galliher at uiuc.edu>
>>>>
>>>>         
>>>>>> I hear that the Art Theatre is on the block or that (perhaps)
>>>>>> Boardman himself
>>>>>>             
>>>>> just wants out. Either way, if true, it's not good news. --CGE
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>           
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>>     
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