Can the Garden Oaks Theater be Saved?

HOUSTON – (By Michelle Leigh Smith for Realty News Report) – The effort to preserve the circa 1947 Art Deco Garden Oaks Theater at 3732 N. Shepherd symbolizes the new Houston among cinephiles and community leaders who point to strong evidence of growing respect for the past.

Maintaining Memories and Unique Places

“We need to preserve the past so that we can know who we are today, and who we want to be tomorrow,” says Caroline S. Cheong, Kinder Institute for Urban Research Associate Director of Community Development at Rice University. “If we think about the places we love, the places that we feel connected to, they’re connected to memories we have as individuals and as a society. These memories form the tapestry of a place’s identity, and without that identity cities lose their uniqueness, their calling cards. They cease being places that people want to be.”

As the Garden Oaks Theater neon marquee was taken down in February by a crew of unaware demolition workers with a wrecking ball on site, hope for a miracle emerged. At the 11th hour, a non-profit called Arthouse Houston signed a deal to buy the 24,000-SF Garden Oaks Theater property from the Heights Investment Fund for $7.1 million.

Preservationists Franci Neely and Minnette Boesel helped bring urgent attention to the need. To date, over $1.8 million has been raised. The seller’s original deadline of July 30 has been extended.

A recent Homecoming Soiree with Houston-born filmmaker Wes Anderson benefitted a “New Arts & Film Center at Garden Oaks Theater and celebrated 30 years of Fantastical Filmmaking” at the Hobby Center.

In a bid to save the historic, 700-seat Garden Oaks Theater, which sits on 2.3 acres, ArthouseHTX, along with the Friends of River Oaks Theater had saved the Garden Oaks’ sister movie emporium reached an arrangement. According to ArthouseHTX director Maureen McNamara, said the developer that owns the theater has offered to sell it if he can be paid the same amount he paid to buy it.

Anderson greeted an audience of more than 300 to raise money for the daunting preservation project. “In a place like Houston, were this is history but so much of it has already been erased, it’s very good to see a group rally together to try to protect it…and to protect it in the context of its original purpose.”

Neighbors of the theater like Zach and Heather Buchanan came out to support the project. “Heather and I live in the Garden Oaks area and there is so much development going on right now – which can be a good thing,” says Buchanan, co-owner of Buchanan’s Native Plants. “I think we can also lose sight of what we already have. That theater is established and beloved. ArthouseHTX’s plans for this space are so exciting for what they could bring to Garden Oaks and the surrounding neighborhoods, it would be such a shame for them not to be realized.”

The 54-Foot Blade Marquee

Among the sponsorship opportunities auctioned were restoration of the original, 54-foot blade marquee, auctioned for $5,000 a foot, and the chance to recraft the original railing, also $5,000 a foot. The original terrazzo tile floor with its mint green, yellow and oxblood Tahitian waves and swirls remains intact. Garden Oaks residents Tony and Debbie Padon bought the naming rights for the Donor Savior Wall in the Grand Lobby for $100,000.

Costs for the entire renovation and upgrades for the parking lot and the technology top out at around $17.5M. Plans include preserving the original gorgeous terrazzo floor with the pale yellow, sage and oxblood swirls.

Houston’s Shortage of Indie Filmhouses

“Houston only has two centrally located venues for independent/foreign films (the River Oaks Theater and MFAH),” says Houston Film Commission’s Alfred Cervantes. Other post-war cinemas are no longer operating as cinemas. The Navaway at Wayside and Navigation closed and the 823-seat Don Gordon at 4719 Canal was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Forsythe, who named it after their two sons, Don and Gordon. It was acquired by Alvin Guggenheim in the 1970s, who fed patrons a steady schedule of exploitation and kung-fu films. Movie theatre empresario Al Zarza bought The Don Gordon from Guggenheim and ran Spanish language movies before it was taken over by the Benitz chain which ran the theatre before closing it in the mid-1980s. Today, the building houses the Iglesia La Luz del Mundo church.

“Another theater would be welcome, especially as a larger, multi-use facility that could house Media Arts and non-profits along with film and educational events,” said Cervantes. “If it can be renovated with the same care as the River Oaks, it will indeed be a special place.”

“This is what makes Garden Oaks more than a real estate story,” said Alison Medley in an interview with the Paper City publication. “It has become a referendum on what kind of city Houston wishes to be.”

Along with the heavy hitting bidders, film teachers like Raymond Gayle from Lamar High brought his film students to learn more about Anderson’s legacy. Students from HSPVA, Dawson High, Heights High, Hamilton Middle School and Wonderworks/Yes Prep also attended. Shorts from Castello Cavalcanti, Hotel Chevalier, Roald Dahl’s The Swan and The Private Dining Room of the Police Commissioner entertained die-hard Anderson fans.

The building has been a space for community organizations for decades. “They could hold pageants here,” says pageant coach J.J. Smith, president of WinnerViews. “Show directors are always scrambling to find venues. Some are quite large and need a space that could accommodate a larger crowd, so the 700 seats here would be perfect. The building should be designated as historic. This type of original Art Deco will never be duplicated. “

The 80-year-old theater has been home to Grace Church since 2008.

The Garden Oaks Theater is not a protected landmark according to the Houston Office of Preservation Landmarks. ArthouseHTX’s plans are so exciting, it would be a shame for them not to be realized. “As awareness is raised, more Houstonians want to preserve our historic treasures,” says J.J. Smith. “I feel grateful to those donors who are fighting to save it.”

image: Courtesy Arthouse Houston

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