A local landmark may yet see new life. The Paradise Theater, built in 1929, has been sold to a church group with a large enough congregation to raise funds for restoration.
Vacant for two years, the building has been under a raze or repair order. If the initial information about the deal between the city and the church was correct, the church needed to put up a performance bond, which would be used to raze the building if the church cannot make repairs within a certain time. Estimates run about $2.2 million for restoration.
The few pictures up at the website for the project give a pretty good representation of the state of the interior - and the exterior work needed as well.
Back in the early 1990s the movie house ran second-run movies on the weekend, and old classics on Tuesday night. There's nothing quite like seeing Ben Hur the way it was meant to be seen: on a screen the size of the side of a barn, with an intermission at the halfway point. Bringing Up Baby, Gaslight and (accidentally - I misread the schedule) The Seventh Seal are just a few of the classics we enjoyed in the massive theater.
Happy to know the old lady may have some life in her yet. Happier still to hear there may be another coffee shop on the way to work.
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