Threatened Philadelphia Theater Protected by Landmark Status
By Margaret Foster | Online Only | Aug. 12, 2008
Although the city granted landmark status to the Boyd Theater, only the exterior, not the ornate art deco interior, is protected from demolition.
Credit: Copyright Rob Bender
A Philadelphia movie house was saved last week when the city's historical commission voted unanimously to landmark the 1928 Boyd Theater. The Aug. 8 designation protects only the exterior of the art deco structure, closed for six years.
"This is by no means a complete victory, but it is a big step in the right direction," says Howard B. Haas, president of Friends of the Boyd, Inc., a nonprofit he formed in 2002. "This designation takes off of the table any discussion of clearing the site."
Clear Channel, Inc. bought the building, most recently known as the Sameric Theater, in 2005, planning a $31 million restoration. Instead, the company transferred it to a subsidiary, Live Nation, which abandoned rehab plans and put it up for sale. That move prompted the National Trust for Historic Preservation to add the Boyd to its 2008 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.
What you can do
- Live Nation, owner of the Boyd, is currently reviewing offers for the purchase of the Theatre. Encourage Live Nation to select an offer that will preserve the Boyd and reopen it as a public venue.
- If you are a resident of Philadelphia and/or Pennsylvania, write Mayor Nutter and Governor Rendell to express your support of the efforts to save the Boyd and encourage public involvement.
- Help the Friends of the Boyd, Inc. and make a contribution.
"Today's designation of Boyd Theater as an historic landmark is a significant victory for the theater and all of the people who have rallied to save it," Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, said in an Aug. 8 statement. The National Trust was involved in litigation to grant landmark status to the Boyd in 1993. Adrian Fine, director of the organization's Northeast Field Office, serves on the board of Friends of the Boyd, Inc., and testified at the Aug. 8 meeting.
Live Nation has 15 days to appeal the designation, but so far the company has not indicated that it will do so.
"We've had a six-year campaign on the importance of the Boyd Theater, so it wasn't shocking that the owner didn't publicly oppose the historic designation," Haas says. "The public has become convinced that it is a public landmark. The designation in some ways was a formality."
Friends of the Boyd is still working to see the theater restored, inside and out, and reopened to the public.
Insiders say Live Nation is expected to settle on a buyer for the theater by the end of the month. "It is a good sign," says John Gallery, executive director of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, who nominated the theater for landmark status and testified at last week's hearing. "The [potential] buyer's plans are good in terms of preservation of the theater."
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Comments
Submitted by materlady at: August 17, 2008
Hopefully this beautiful theatre will be saved inside and out. So many of the historic theatre in the United States have been demolished. In my book "Street of Dreams, A History of Dallas' Theatre Row" I described what happened to all of the downtown theatres in Dallas. Only one is left and it doesn't show movies. But thankfully it is used in other ways. Regards,
Submitted by John Gallery at: August 14, 2008
The effort to provide the Boyd Theater with local protection has been a protracted one and is positive evidence of how advocacy and vocal support can triumph in the end. In preparing the designation nomination, the Preservation Alliance felt it was important to add the Boyd’s latest contribution to history – namely the landmark court cases that challenged the ability of local governments to designate properties with or without the owner’s consent. In addition to all the other architectural, cultural and historical reasons the Boyd is important, it is also part of preservation legal history now. On behalf of the many Philadelphians who love the Boyd, thank you to the National Trust for contributing to the effort to shine the spotlight on its endangered status and make sure this was not the art deco theater’s last act. For anyone who’d like to read the nomination the Preservation Alliance submitted to the Philadelphia Historical Commission, it’s available at http://www.preservationalliance.com/advocacy/Boydnomination2008.pdf