Saving Smaller Theaters
Happy Birthday to the Fox Theater! Thank heavens this palace was saved from the wrecking ball!
There are numerous other theaters in Atlanta that could befall the same fate! It would be much more fun to see these theaters restored and they would greatly help their communities!
In East Atlanta, the old Madison Theater is boarded up and awaits a tenant. Given East Atlanta’s reputation for music, this would be a great place to put in a mid-sized concert hall. Yes, parking has to be addressed. Yes, it would add traffic to the area, but if the facility kept its character, it could draw great people into a great area.
Toco Hills already has the parking yet the Toco Hills Theater remains closed. This theater could seat 800 and has one of the largest screens in town. It could be a great second run house or a theater specializing in audience participation movies. Given its location, it might also do very well as an ethnic movie house. Can you imagine a single theater that showed latin American, Indian, and Asian films?
The Cinema in East Point has long faced the wrecking ball. East Point needs a live theater venue. It would help put the city on the map and help the south side’s continued development. It’s a community that is working hard to turn the corner, and a working theater with a resident company would continue to make East Point attractive to new families.
The old Rhodes Theaters were the last revival houses in Atlanta. The city could use them again. Additionally, it would give the folks who live near the Arts Center a chance to walk to the movies!
All these theaters can still be saved, renovated and operated. Just as Georgia State saved the Rialto and it had a huge impact on downtown, the benefits could be reaped by these locations.