NOW PLAYINGSMALL-TOWN MOVIE THEATERS AND PRESERVATION PRACTICE
Cassandra BennettEssentials of Historic Preservation
Fall 2012
TONIGHT’S ENTERTAINMENT• Nationwide preservation efforts, especially in small-towns
• National Trust’s Main Street program• Multi-use facilities • Social media
• West Tennessee case studies• Park Theatre (1941) in McKenzie• Capitol Theatre (1927) in Union City
• Preservation practices
WHY THEATERS? • Excellent cornerstone projects for a community’s early
efforts to revitalize the downtown • Full of childhood and young adult memories and
emotional attachments • Local theaters are a source of great pride and links a
community’s past, present, and future
• Theater preservation movement mirrors the movement nationwide
• Focus has been urban opera houses and picture palaces until mid-1990s
• National Trust• Main Street• “11 Most Endangered Historic Places”
• League of Historic American Theatres• CinemaTreasures.org
NATIONWIDE PRESERVATION EFFORTS
WEST TENNESSEE CASE STUDIES
MCKENZIE UNION CITY
Fall 2011 Fall 2012
PARK THEATRE IN MCKENZIE• Goal; return to 1941 appearance • Use as a multi-purpose community center• Owned by the City of McKenzie• Tennessee Downtown
CAPITOL THEATRE IN UNION CITY• Masquerade Theatre, founded 1989• Theatrical 4 productions a year• Example of importance to community and sustainability• Funding• Main Street
SEGREGATION
“How do we reconcile my past with your past, even in the same landscape?” Robert Melnick
“Preserving the architecture of racial segregation in all its forms can be a way to facilitate public education, understanding about modern race relations, and social tolerance.”
Robert R. Weyeneth