Baltimore Theater Faces Foreclosure
By Margaret Foster | Online Only | Mar. 18, 2009
The 1939 Senator Theatre in Baltimore
Credit: Tom Kiefaber
It looks like no one will rescue the Senator Theatre this time.
A bank announced this month that it will foreclose on the 1939 Art Deco landmark. The last movie was screened there on Sunday.
"It's a cliffhanger, kind of like in the movies," says owner Tom Kiefaber, who won a National Main Street Award for Business Leadership in 2003. "With all the negativity and sorrow and grief over the cessation of first-run films, I feel more strongly than ever that the Senator has a viable and economically stable future ahead of it."
Kiefaber, whose grandfather owned the Senator, was short on cash in 2007, and a foreclosure auction was scheduled. But over a 10-day period, in a manner reminiscent of Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life," more than 3,500 people gave $120,000 to save the Senator (most of the donations came from outside Maryland). Read more
Today it's not so easy. Kiefaber owes $900,000 to First Mariner Bank, which says he hasn't made a payment in months. He needs about $70,000 to keep the mortgage current, according to Friends of the Senator Theater. An auction could take place as soon as next month.
Baltimore's Senator Theater
Credit: Byrd Wood, NTHP
To stall that auction, Kiefaber may declare bankruptcy, according to Sean Brescia, president of Baltimore-based Clearpath Management and a volunteer advisor to the group Kiefaber recently formed, the Senator Community Trust. If the group can't raise the money to satisfy the bank by next week, and if no private buyer steps forward, "we'll file a petition for Chapter 11," Brescia says. "It has a little bit of a stigma, but in fact it could be a very useful tool to buy us time. Any of those options are better than this [theater] becoming a loose ball on the street."
No one knows if there will be a happy ending for the Senator, but it does retain a large fan base. About 500 people attended a town meeting on Mar. 16 at the theater to discuss ways to make it profitable again, perhaps as an education and entertainment center. Kiefaber says that a proposal by the city's Commission for Historic and Architectural Preservation to preserve the Senator's interior may make the theater hard to sell.
"We feel very strongly, and so does the extended community and experts, that the highest and best use for the Senator is to evolve to the next level and become the premiere entertainment and education center in the region," Kiefaber says.
The idea for a center for class trips and special events is nothing new, Brescia says. "Tom has, since the day he bought the building, has had this plan to turn it into a multipurpose arts and entertainment facility. He's been the visionary since the beginning, and he's about to lose everything. ... Time is the biggest issue. We're running out of it day by day."
Subscribe to the Today's News RSS feed
Comments
Submitted by FoTS at: May 28, 2009
Although Baltimore City has bought the 1st Mariner note by now, they will hold their own FORECLOSURE AUCTION on July 21, 2009! If you know any folks who would like to invest in a great historic theatre and interested in keeping it a theatre (multipurpose arts, entertainment, education), NOW is the time to let them know that The Senator could soon be had for as little as $1 million! In the meantime, thanks to a dedicated, all volunteer staff, The Senator remains open! Check www.senator.com for shows, events & movie memorabilia sale!
Submitted by Tiny Avenger at: April 23, 2009
Mr. X is Bob Embry. He is the head of the Abel Foundation and the Head of the CHAP commission ironically. He's the person who pushed through his own CHAP precedures and guidelines to slap restrictions on the exterior of the theatre in 2007 when the theatre was vulunerable as he has done so again in 2009. He has been childhood friends with a local big money developer. He has personal issues with Mr. Kiefaber and this is the best way he knows how to "get back". It's working too unfortunately. Thought the original CHAP hearing scheduled April 18th was a debaccle. First they were going to close this hearing to the public, then they were having a closed meeting with their Law Deopartment to "go over" their own guidelines and such-although "this had nothing to do with The Senator agenda"-then after 6 PM the night before, they decided to calcel the hearing altogether. New date is May 12th, but they give different times as to when this hearing actually is. By placing unconstitutional restrictions on private property, it turns other potential buyers away. Who would want to buy private property that's controlled by a city government organization? If you want to paint a wall, you have to get their approval, which could take as long as 6 months.
Submitted by JeffS at: March 26, 2009
One correction - Tom Kiefaber didn't form the Senator Community Trust organization - it was formed independently by local community organizers in the same neighborhood in response to the lack of community input to the city's steering committee (formed by the city to investigate alternative ways in which the theater could be preserved.) This distinction is unfortunately critical - there are many people in Baltimore who would support ongoing operations at the theater (and possibly donate to the cause) if it were to be administered by a non-profit, but who wouldn't support them (or donate to a rescue fund) if Tom continued to run the place.
Submitted by jan at: March 20, 2009
Who is Mr. X? I just read this blog that says someone on Baltimore City's CHAP commission is trying to lower the price for this auction by putting interior controls on the building that might scare bidders away. One of the prospective bidders is apparently on the commission? Are you kidding me? http://astrogirlguides.blogspot.com/2009/03/this-really-chaps-my-hide.html
Submitted by rtbryant at: March 19, 2009
I wish there was something I could do to help the Senator. I used to walk to the Saturday morning kid's shows there in the 50s. The admission was 10 cents. That was a long time ago and I've since lived in many places, but the memory of that theater stays with me.
Submitted by Laura at: March 18, 2009
There is hope. I was at the town hall on Monday. There were about 10 times as many people there as I expected. The community was clearly supportive of the idea of turning The Senator into a non-profit multi-purpose arts venue, and very interested in stopping it from going to auction. There also seemed to be broad recognition of the fact that Tom Kiefaber has done something extraordinary in preserving this beautiful historic landmark, as the audience gave him a standing ovation when he welcomed them to the meeting.