COLUMBIA CITY – SEEDArts, Southeast Seattle’s largest non-profit arts organization, has announced plans to revive Columbia City Cinema.
The cinema, which featured first-run films on three screens, was popular with all of the neighborhoods in Southeast Seattle. The area suffered a great blow when it closed earlier this year. Since then, residents and businesses have repeatedly expressed a desire to reopen the beloved movie house.
In response, SEEDArts says it has been working with a community Advisory Board to investigate the feasibility of raising funds to refurbish and reopen the cinema.
“[The] goal is to maintain a critical cultural space in Southeast Seattle, an underserved area that represents one of the nation’s most diverse zip codes,” said SEEDArts Executive Director Jerri Plumridge.
The cinema closed in May when the previous owner couldn’t afford to install a fire sprinkler system needed to bring the building up to code. SEEDArts wants to rent the building for one year in an effort to maintain the building’s status as a public cultural and entertainment space.
During this time, an advisory board will embark upon a feasibility study and a capital campaign to raise approximately $1.1 million to renovate the building, fix the code violations and establish operations. To sign the one-year lease, SEEDArts must raise $60,000.
“The mission of the Columbia City Cinema will be to provide an entertainment experience in Southeast Seattle, to offer a community-based alternative to the commercial film venues, and to celebrate and promote the artistic elements of film,” added Plumridge.
She says the cinema will offer popular first/second run movies, foreign and independent films and specialized programming geared towards its diverse community.
Although a lot of excitement has been generated in the community, Plumridge emphasized that the project is only in its early stages.
“SEEDArts and the Cinema Advisory Board are working together to finalize a business plan, establish reliable contractor bids for construction and confirm the support capacity of the local community and of public and private sources,” she said.
The Columbia City Cinema will be a project of SEEDArts, which is a program of SouthEast Effective Development, a not-profit corporation founded in 1975 whose mission is to build strong communities in Southeast Seattle through the provision of housing, arts, and economic development programs.
SEEDArts owns and operates Southeast Seattle’s two main arts facilities: the Rainier Valley Cultural Center and the Columbia City Gallery. Donations can be made here.
Photo/Rainier Valley Post
Who to know, where to eat & what to do in one of America’s most diverse zip codes!
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A properly managed cinema will be a huge success. Great news. Hope they can pull it off.
Yay! I just hope they (SEEDArts) don’t get too artsy or even worse… push a liberal agenda. The great thing about the Columbia City Cinema was that they played great first run movies with no motive other than the love of popular film.
As long as it’s not going to become another one of those parasitical “churches”, that take up what should be tax paying, neighborhood enhancing commercial space, I’m cool with it.
Speaking of which, why aren’t any of the sham “churches” required to install sprinklers?
Fantastic news.
Push a “liberal agenda”? What? Then some comment about churches (in quotation marks) and a claim that none of them have sprinklers? I can’t help but laugh. Random, weird stuff.
As one who enjoyed this theater, I have a suggestion.
Pair up with the various great restaurants in the area and offer a movie and dinner show every weekend. Come to the movies and enjoy a light dinner while watching the movie. Get to know your local restaurants while enjoying a movie.
If you think this will not work look at what people are paying downtown and on the East side for a night with movie and a dinner.
Am I mistaken in thinking that SEEDArts also runs and operates the building that houses Lotties, Bodygood Massage and the hair salon behind Lotties? If so then is it a good idea having anyone entity own and operate so much of the neighborhood we’ve come to love?
Great news and I like your suggestion Fred!
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