Final Act
Like many theaters, the once-opulent Proctor's Theater in Troy, N.Y., is vacant. Is it curtains for historic theaters?
By Elizabeth Benjamin | Online Only | Feb. 8, 2002
Baltimore's Senator Theater
Credit: Byrd Wood
Almost as soon as it opened in 1914, Proctor's Theater became a popular destination on Fourth Street in downtown Troy. The theater's three balconies, ornate plasterwork, and hand-painted murals gave audiences a feeling of opulence for an affordable price as they filled its 2,500 seats to see vaudeville stars perform or watch movies.
But by the 1970s, residents throughout the country were abandoning cities like Troy and moving to the suburbs. They shopped in malls and turned to multi-screen cinemas for entertainment, leaving urban centers desolate. The once-grand Proctor's was reduced to showing third-run karate movies to a largely empty house.
In 1977, the theater shut its doors for good. It wasn't long before the city of Troy foreclosed due to the owners' failure to pay property taxes. Strapped for cash, city officials turned off the theater's lights, shut off its heat, and left it to deteriorate.
Stalactites of paint now hang from the ceiling, the air is stale, and a thick layer of dust covers the seats and floors. But there is some hope in sight.
In October 2000, a developer purchased Proctor's Theater along with an adjacent five-story office building, which he has already begun to gut, moving forward with plans to turn it into a boutique hotel. Ali A. Yaghoubi of Scarsdale, N.Y., paid $31,000 for the property, $6,000 of which was for back taxes. That's about one-tenth of the $325,000 it cost to build the theater.
Though Yaghoubi doesn't have any immediate plans for Proctor's Theater, he has invested several hundred thousand dollars to stabilize the structure and fix its roof. He has also pledged to hold onto the theater until enough money can be raised to restore it or another developer comes forward.
"The current plan is very exciting because it at least maintains the basic integrity of the building," says Troy Mayor Mark Pattison. "Perhaps as time goes by, the theater space can become accessible. If, at minimum, we are able to preserve the space, mothball it, then it lives for another day."
A group of local artists and activists recently formed a nonprofit organization—Friends of Proctor's Theater, Troy—in an attempt to raise the money necessary to save it and also come up with a business plan that would allow the theater to sustain itself once it is restored. The group estimates a cost of $10-$20 million to fix the theater.
All across the nation, many long-empty theaters such as Proctor's are deteriorating. In San Francisco alone, 35 single-screen theaters have closed in the past 20 years. Last year, the National Trust included historic American movie theaters on its list of the nation's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.
Proctor's Theater struggled because its capacity of 2,800 was too large for Troy's population of 49,170—not enough to pack a traditional movie theater nightly and allow it to turn a profit.
Old theaters like this one struggle to survive
Credit: Uptown Shelby Association
Single-screen, independently run theaters are difficult to sustain in today's business climate in which first-run movies are distributed to multiplexes. Hollywood distributors prefer to send premiere films to multi-screen theaters because they can offer more movies to smaller audiences. As a film wanes in popularity, multiplexes can continue to show movies, thereby generating income for the studio.
"If you're paying Arnold Schwarzenegger $20 million a film, that's a lot of money to make back," says Terrance Demas, executive director of the League of Historic American Theaters. "Hollywood is going to maintain as tight a control over where the product goes to make sure they make money. But that leaves historic cinemas in a lurch."
Old theaters must be creative by diversifying and expanding beyond movies, Demas says. They must consider hosting the performing arts, lectures, and even small conventions. The most important thing, he says, is to find out how a newly renovated theater could best suit its audience. "The thing we tell everybody is this: 'Do not assume you know what the product is going to be before you put money into restoring it,'" Demas says. "You must find out what the community needs. Do survey and analysis and then do the programming."
The Troy theater was just one in what was once a successful chain of Proctor's Theaters. Another, located in nearby Schenectady, has been successfully renovated and is now owned and run by a nonprofit organization. The Schenectady Proctor's hosts touring Broadway productions as well as movies and lectures. Its owners are considering expanding the stage and dressing rooms to accommodate larger productions.
Before Yaghoubi purchased the Proctor's Theater in Troy, the Lake George Opera briefly considered using the space as its new headquarters. The city also approached local cable television stations, colleges, and performing arts groups in hopes of giving the theater a new life.
From a structural standpoint, the theater appears sound, and its interior could be rehabilitated, according to Molly Van Meter, who visited the building on behalf of the League of Historic American Theaters. Van Meter is the director of restoration for Hayles & Howe Inc., an ornamental plaster firm in Baltimore. "Everything is still there as far as the plasterwork goes," Van Meter said. "The intricate decorative paint and stenciling are hidden under subsequent paint campaigns, but the finishes certainly could be restored and replicated where necessary."
Mayor Pattison hopes the theater's new incarnation preserves its facade—at the very least—to maintain the architectural integrity of the street. He says he doesn't believe the theater will survive as a traditional movie venue, but he's optimistic that a creative solution will surface.
"We need more life on that block," Pattison says. "Tell me how to put $15 million into that building and then make it sustainable with a mission and a purpose that has a life. We can't go pouring money into a building without a logical second step. Especially not at these times."
Single-screen, independently run theaters are difficult to sustain in today's business climate in which first-run movies are distributed to multiplexes. Hollywood distributors prefer to send premiere films to multi-screen theaters because they can offer more movies to smaller audiences. As a film wanes in popularity, multiplexes can continue to show movies, thereby generating income for the studio.
"If you're paying Arnold Schwarzenegger $20 million a film, that's a lot of money to make back," says Terrance Demas, executive director of the League of Historic American Theaters. "Hollywood is going to maintain as tight a control over where the product goes to make sure they make money. But that leaves historic cinemas in a lurch."
Old theaters must be creative by diversifying and expanding beyond movies, Demas says. They must consider hosting the performing arts, lectures, and even small conventions. The most important thing, he says, is to find out how a newly renovated theater could best suit its audience. "The thing we tell everybody is this: 'Do not assume you know what the product is going to be before you put money into restoring it,'" Demas says. "You must find out what the community needs. Do survey and analysis and then do the programming."
The Troy theater was just one in what was once a successful chain of Proctor's Theaters. Another, located in nearby Schenectady, has been successfully renovated and is now owned and run by a nonprofit organization. The Schenectady Proctor's hosts touring Broadway productions as well as movies and lectures. Its owners are considering expanding the stage and dressing rooms to accommodate larger productions.
Before Yaghoubi purchased the Proctor's Theater in Troy, the Lake George Opera briefly considered using the space as its new headquarters. The city also approached local cable television stations, colleges, and performing arts groups in hopes of giving the theater a new life.
From a structural standpoint, the theater appears sound, and its interior could be rehabilitated, according to Molly Van Meter, who visited the building on behalf of the League of Historic American Theaters. Van Meter is the director of restoration for Hayles & Howe Inc., an ornamental plaster firm in Baltimore. "Everything is still there as far as the plasterwork goes," Van Meter said. "The intricate decorative paint and stenciling are hidden under subsequent paint campaigns, but the finishes certainly could be restored and replicated where necessary."
Mayor Pattison hopes the theater's new incarnation preserves its facade—at the very least—to maintain the architectural integrity of the street. He says he doesn't believe the theater will survive as a traditional movie venue, but he's optimistic that a creative solution will surface.
"We need more life on that block," Pattison says. "Tell me how to put $15 million into that building and then make it sustainable with a mission and a purpose that has a life. We can't go pouring money into a building without a logical second step. Especially not at these times."
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