Arthouse Houston, a nonprofit working to save and revive the historic Garden Oaks Theater, says it has so far raised $1.9 million to buy the property at 3732 N. Shepherd. The property sold last fall to an investment company for just over $7 million, and was scheduled for demolition before Arthouse Houston reached a deal with the new owners. Arthouse Houston has been raising money for a down payment on the building with a hard deadline of Monday, Aug. 31.
“Right now, we’re about a million dollars shy,” Maureen McNamara, co-founder and director of Arthouse Houston, told Chron.
McNamara told Chron that while the clock is running out to fill the gaps, several donors have “expressed interest in making some major pledges.”
“I can’t say for certain, but I feel fairly hopeful that we’re gonna be able to do it,” McNamara said. “We just need a handful more people to come forward and jump past their fear of commitment.”
If the goal is reached, McNamara said that Arthouse Houston will begin the next phase, which is securing capital for renovations and capital improvements to the theater. In addition to soliciting funding, Arthouse Houston is selling sponsorships and naming rights for donors. Without a major donor stepping in, McNamara said her understanding is that the building will be demolished as planned. Already, parts of the building including signage have been stripped, and the building has been disconnected from the city sewers.
“There’s basically nothing to be done except knock the building down,” McNamara said.
The Garden Oaks Theater was one of a number of art deco community cinemas built in Houston between the 1930s and 1950s as the city grew. Now, just a few remain, and several have been demolished in the past two years, including the Granada Theater along Jersey Drive.
A recent success story is the River Oaks Theatre, which was remodeled and reopened as an indie cinema on West Gray. Arthouse Houston, previously known as Friends of River Oaks Theater, helped save and revitalize that cinema, and is hoping they can save the Garden Oaks from destruction.
“We’re hoping that everybody in the community will rally together and make sure that doesn’t happen, that we have a beautiful new arts and film center for the neighborhood and for the city of Houston,” McNamara said.