SENATOR Theatre: FREE Farewell to Kiefaber screenings of rare STAR WARS (1977) print on July 21

“This is it!” – Red Leader, Star Wars

STAR WARS Style A half-sheet by Tom Jung (1977)

The Force Is With Them!

Baltimore’s Senator Theatre Ends 71 Years of Continuous
Family Ownership and Operation.

“Friends of The Senator” Express A New Hope for a Rapid Reopening

Baltimore, MD
July 21, 2010

The Friends of The Senator (FOTS) theatre advocacy group announced today
that Wednesday 7/21 marks the final day of operation for Baltimore’s historic
Senator Theatre. The shutdown date was designated by Baltimore’s City Hall.
Instructions are to cease operations, and for the theatre’s ex-owner to remove
all personal items. Baltimore City took ownership of the renowned, single screen
Art Deco landmark at a foreclosure auction in July of 2009.

For the final evening of operation, the FOTS are encouraging patrons to join
us for a gathering of The Senator’s extended family, including long time
manager Gayle Grove and The Senator’s popular border collie staff, Natty Boh
and Nipper.

The evening will feature two free celebratory screenings of a rare 1977 British
I.B. Technicolor print of “Star Wars: A New Hope” from a private collection.
Free screenings of the two hour feature will be at 4:30 pm and 8:00 pm. Doors
open at 4:00 pm for the 4:30 show.

“We wanted to do something really special for the last film to be shown at
The Senator, to honor Tom Kiefaber and his family, as well as The Senator’s
long term staff,” said FOTS President Tom Harris, who has camped on the
sidewalk at The Senator for past Star Wars midnight openings with his family.
“A film collector approached us about this rare original release print of Star
Wars, and the film is such a touchstone for so many of us, we went for it.”

“This is where I came in,” said Tom Kiefaber, in reference to Star Wars in 1977.
“I grew up in The Senator, and I officially joined the family business in 1977, just
as Star Wars was about to change the film industry forever. The saying ‘this
is where I came in’ comes from my youth, when the theatres ran short subjects,
newsreels, and features continuously. We would often arrive in the middle of a
show and stay until it was starting the repeat, noting this is where I came in.”
Also popular in those days were the weekly “cliffhanger” serials where a
young George Lucas found inspiration for “Star Wars.”

“With The Senator going dark for an indefinite time, we all feel a great
disturbance in the Force,” said FOTS Managing Director Laura Perkins.
“Kathleen Cusack from the new management team predicts The Senator may
only stay dark a few days, and we hope the Cusack team understands
the importance of the theatre to this community and reopens The Senator as
quickly as possible.”

“We have many concerns about what’s in store for The Senator, particularly
plans to demolish original features that define the character of the building’s
interior,” noted Kiefaber, “but we have no choice but to accept as graciously
as possible that the force is with them.”

* * *

BDC practices attract some scrutiny

For those who aren’t familiar, the Baltimore Development Corporation (also known as the BDC), has been given the job by Baltimore City government to handle the Request For Proposals (RFP) process in the case of The Senator Theatre.
That is, once the city’s winning bid – from their own foreclosure auction – has been ratified. This is expected to happen this coming Friday, September 18, 2009 (barring any objections filed over the auction’s validity).

Apparently, BDC actions (recent and past) have some folks questioning their operations.

• Baltimore’s Shadow Government- The Baltimore Development Corporation – Examiner.com
  Citizens respond in the Comments section below the article (start from the bottom & read upwards).
  

  Proposed Slots Parlor Site

• City OKs Gateway land for slots parlor – Baltimore sun
  

“Had we known the City planned to make this land available to any bidder, this would clearly and dramatically affect our appraisal of the location, as it would have for other potential bidders.” [John Cordish of Cordish Co.]

When the city awards land to a private developer it usually goes through a competitive bid process. Frank, the deputy mayor, acknowledged that this deal was “unusual.”

The deal included a payout of at least $3 million from BCEG to Cormony as an incentive for the development firm to bow out of its project [a $250 million “sportsplex”], according to a person familiar with the negotiations.

• City Gave No-Bid Contract For Slots Site Work – WJZ TV
  Instead of advertising the work, the [BDC] approached a handful of companies and asked them to provide prices to knock down the Maryland Chemical Building on Russell Street…
  [To] pave the way for a proposed $212 million casino near M&T Bank Stadium.

• City awarded demolition contract at proposed slots site without public bidding – Baltimore Sun
  City Comptroller Joan M. Pratt, who sits on the five-member Board of Estimates panel that approves city contracts, says she believes… “An open process allows for more competitiveness and allows for the City of Baltimore to get better service at the best price.”

  Arnold Jolivet, the managing director of the Maryland Minority Contractors Association, criticized the process – even though the… demolition was awarded to an African-American owned firm that he called “well qualified.”
  

• BDC cancels demolition contract – Baltimore Sun
  [M. J. “Jay”]Brodie said he consulted with some of his BDC colleagues who believed that the quasi-governmental agency had the authority to go outside the regular city bidding process with demolition contracts, as it does for other types of contracts. “I didn’t question that,” he said. “I don’t know to what degree they checked.”

  Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon announced Tuesday that BDC would no longer award demolition contracts.

Those concerned for the future well-being of The Senator Theatre may well consider these reasons to pay extra attention to the BDC’s handling of theatre’s situation.

City’s Strategy Group Recommendations Letter

Andrew Frank - Deputy Mayor, Neighborhood and Economic Development

Those interested can now read the Senator Theatre Strategy Group’s letter to Deputy Mayor Andrew Frank for themselves.

The unedited letter details their findings and suggested options regarding the future of the historic movie palace.

I’m sure these will be further discussed with Mayor Dixon.

However, if the city is to go forward with the group’s primary option (foreclosing before 1st Mariner, then paying off 1st Mariner to become the owner, then either reselling or committing a qualified operator to a long-term lease), they’ll have to act quickly… The 1st Mariner auction is scheduled to take place in only 16 days.

At that point, the future of our nationally recognized, historic theatre lies with the highest bidder.

Related articles:

Baltimore Sun
“City to the rescue – Our View: Its control of The Senator Theatre would ensure viability as movie house” – April 3, 2009

“A tearful atmosphere at Senator Theatre memorabilia sale” – April 3, 2009

WJZ-TV
“Senator Theatre Memorabilia Up for Sale“

City’s “Strategy Group” decides non-profit will not work

Today’s “Midday with Dan Rodericks” has brought to light that a letter to Deputy Mayor Andrew Frank, dated March 31, 2009, in which the Strategy Group (formerly referred to as ‘steering committee’) state:

• The Senator could not survive as a non-profit organization without an annual government subsidy.
  
  My question to Deputy Mayor Frank was, how is it that The Patterson’s Creative Alliance can? Unfortunately, he left the show before the question was pulled.
  Ref: Balto. Sun, A theatre is a part of the city worth saving

  Councilman Bill Henry, a member of the Strategy Group, e-mailed in to say that the Creative Alliance received “millions” from the federal government for capital improvements, which The Senator cannot expect.
  

• Option 1: Baltimore City purchase the theatre by foreclosing on their loan, paying off 1st Mariner and then finding a management organization to run the theatre, still as a 1st run movie house.
• Option 2: Allow 1st Mariner’s foreclosure to proceed and plan to “work closely” with whomever wins the bid.
  Even they admit that they’d have limited say with this option.

Tom Kiefaber restated that he is “ready to move on”, but insists the community needs the theatre to remain open.

He also reiterated that the multipurpose entertainment model (rather than first run movie) programming is the way to go, for whomever ends up running the theatre.

Sean Brescia of Clearpath Management said that all options are still on the table, including the possibility of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Watch WYPR’s podcast page for a recording of the show.

Updates:

Baltimore City’s Strategy Group Letter (added Apr. 4, 2009)

Baltimore Sun: Task force recommends city buy Senator Theatre