Whiteside backers draw inspiration from Salem's Elsinore Theatre

By BENNETT HALL

mid-valley Sunday

SALEM - Seen from the street, the crenellated facade of the Historic Elsinore Theatre in downtown Salem only hints at the medieval castle theme the designer had in mind when the 1,290-seat picture palace opened in 1926.

It hardly prepares first-time visitors for the dramatic sweep of the Tudor Gothic lobby, with its stone-look walls and vaulted ceiling, stained-glass windows and Shakespearean murals, or the red and gold splendor of the auditorium, with its twin balconies, tapestry-hung walls and elaborately framed proscenium stage.

"Architecturally, there's nothing like the Elsinore," boasts Stephen R. Martin, the theater's executive director.

Like so many other grand old relics from Hollywood's heyday, the Elsinore fell into disrepair as American movie audiences migrated to suburban cineplexes, cable television and DVDs. In 1980, it was nearly torn down to make way for a parking lot.

But a small group of devoted supporters refused to let it die without a fight, and after years of struggle and several false starts, a renovated Elsinore reopened in 2004 to rave reviews.

For the preservationists working to acquire the once-grand Whiteside Theatre in downtown Corvallis, the Elsinore offers a shining example of the sort of civic miracle they hope to accomplish

"A lot of people go there from Corvallis," said Susan Morre, a spokeswoman for the Friends of the Whiteside, "and when they do, they go, 'Wow!' And then they understand why this is important."

Faced with mounting maintenance problems and dwindling ticket sales, Regal Entertainment Group closed the 960-seat Whiteside six years ago today after a final showing of "The Fellowship of the Ring."

Several attempts have been made to purchase the historic theater, built by local impresarios George and Samuel Whiteside in 1922. Plans for the property have ranged from a concert hall to a mixed-use midrise to a religious education center.

The most recent proposal would have converted the building into a restaurant and retail complex, but that idea was derailed by the Friends' legal challenge to the state Land Use Board of Appeals.

The nonprofit group wants to restore the Whiteside as a multiple-use performing arts and events facility along the lines of the Elsinore. But first it has to scrape together the $650,000 purchase price, raise another million or two for renovation work and generate enough community support to make the whole plan work.

Role model

The Salem theater offers an exemplary model of where the Friends of the Whiteside want to go - and a cautionary tale of the difficulties involved in getting there.

Today the Elsinore books about 140 events a year, drawing roughly 70,000 people to concerts of all kinds as well as stage plays, comedy acts, weddings, corporate meetings and even silent movies with pipe organ accompaniment.

The theater generates income in several ways, primarily from rental fees and the profits on shows produced by the Elsinore, although Martin notes not all shows pay off.

"When you present an event, you take a financial risk," he said. "You either net money on events or you lose money."

The Elsinore gets a modest subsidy from the city of Salem (about $29,000 last year) in the form of a slice of the motel room tax. Other revenue sources include memberships that sell for $50 to $1,000 a year and an annual appeal for donations that nets about $24,000.

It all adds up to a budget of $800,000 a year, enough to cover the light bill and pay a staff of five full-time employees, plus some part-time box office help. A small army of volunteers helps those dollars stretch.

"We do break even," Martin said. "We actually generate a little bit of a profit that we put back in (the operating fund)."

Road to opening night

Achieving that success, however, has been anything but easy.

In 1981, Salem voters shot down the first attempt to save the Elsinore, a pair of ballot measures that would have provided public financing for the project. It wasn't until 1993, with a $400,000 grant from the Meyer Memorial Trust, that the building was purchased, and the better part of a decade would pass before the real restoration drive was launched.

From 2002 to 2004, Elsinore supporters raised $3.2 million, completing the restoration in stages.

"Each year we would go as far as the monies would allow us to go," said Gerry Thompson, past president of the Elsinore board and a veteran of the fundraising drive. "We worked hard to keep the excitement going by having galas at least once a year. We even had a street party."

The organizers played on the nostalgia of local residents who had emotional ties to the historic theater, but at times it was still a tough sell.

"It isn't a huge faction that supports the arts, and I can't tell you we had a huge faction who supported us financially," Thompson said. "We had probably 10 huge chunks (in contributions). The rest went anywhere from $25 to $10,000."

In some respects, though, raising the money to renovate the beloved local landmark may have been the easy part.

"Restoring it is exciting - it's always fun to see a restored theater," Martin said. "But you also want to make sure you have a business plan."

Thanks in large part to Martin's expertise, Thompson said, the Elsinore's business plan is working. But shifting from fundraising to operating mode has been a huge transition for the board, she said, and the theater is still establishing itself as a performance venue in the entertainment no man's land between Portland and Eugene.

"We never will attract the really big performers because we're Salem," Thompson said. "We play to our own little niche."

Scaled-down traveling productions of Broadway musicals has become a key part of the Elsinore's mix. "Peter Pan" played to fairly full houses last weekend, and Martin hopes to book such popular shows as "Cats" and "Rent" this year.

Filling the seats

That formula isn't likely to work in Corvallis, however.

Morre said the Friends of the Whiteside are reluctant to compete with the Majestic, the 300-seat historic theater owned by the city that serves as home stage for the Corvallis Community Theatre troupe. And without a major expansion of its stage and dressing room facilities, the Whiteside probably couldn't accommodate a Broadway roadshow anyway.

Instead, the Friends are hoping to book the sort of regional and national artists local music fans now travel to see at venues such as the McDonald Theater in Eugene or the Aladdin, Roseland or Crystal Ballroom in Portland.

"The acoustics in there are great," Morre said. "It's the perfect size for a lot of touring acts going up and down the West Coast."

The 20,000 entertainment-starved students at Oregon State University, she said, make up "a prime audience."

Maybe so, but live music has had a tough time gaining a foothold in Corvallis.

Mike Corwin, a former OSU associate athletic director, said he faced some serious challenges trying to book big name performers on campus. Gill Coliseum concerts by Bob Dylan and Tom Petty were solid draws, but neither brought a big payday for the university.

"The tough part is that any A-level talent, any name that you've heard of, is going push the margin to the point that it's tough to make money," Corwin said.

The Venetian Theater in downtown Albany enjoyed only limited success as a concert hall.

Corvallis businessman Sam Lanahan bought the vintage movie theater in 1999 and gave it a $1.6 million restoration, adding a bar in the mezzanine and installing a first-rate sound system that developed a solid reputation with touring bands. An assortment of rock and blues acts played the Venetian, but the schedule was spotty and attendance varied wildly.

In 2002 Lanahan sold the building at a loss to Plainview Church, which has its offices in the basement and occasionally holds services in the auditorium. The church operates a cafe on the ground floor and leases studio space to a local radio station. It rents the facility out for meetings and other events, holds a family film night once a month and hosts the occasional concert, but pastor Steve Bingenheimer doesn't see the Venetian ever becoming a mainstream music venue again.

"It's not our primary purpose," Bingenheimer said. "It's kind of a side thing, frankly, and sometimes I wonder why I do it."

But local promoter Delynn Anderson thinks the Venetian demonstrated that a restored theater could be a successful concert venue in the mid-valley.

Anderson, the owner of Eventful Productions, drew strong crowds to a couple of shows by bluesman Coco Montoya during the Albany venue's three-year run. She believes the Whiteside has a chance to carve out a niche as a midweek tour stop between Eugene and Portland.

The new 600-seat theater at Corvallis High School has brought in the likes of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Dan Hicks and Dar Williams. With its larger capacity, Anderson thinks the Whiteside might be able to attract a Keb Mo, a Robert Cray or a Mark Knopfler.

"The middle of the week, those are the nights they're looking to fill," Anderson said. "So it's a question of would Corvallis come out and support big-name acts on a weekday."

It's a competitive business, Anderson added, and some of the larger Eugene and Portland venues might impose 100-mile exclusivity clauses to protect their ticket sales, but she sees the potential of the Corvallis market.

"I don't think it's insurmountable," Anderson said. "I just think it's going to take a lot of hard work."

Building momentum

While theater restoration projects in other communities have lots of useful lessons to offer, the Friends of the Whiteside will have to find their own path, said Fran Holden, executive director of the League of Historic American Theatres.

"Each situation is unique because it so depends on the individual needs of the community, what the community is interested in, how it has been associated with the building in the past," Holden said.

"The common denominator in all of this is it really requires full community support and commitment."

That support may come a little easier if the Friends can complete the first part of their quest by purchasing the Whiteside.

A similar momentum shift could happen in Corvallis.

So far, local residents have been divided into two camps when it comes to the Whiteside.

One is made up of preservationists like Morre who dream of a day when touring bands and local performers will play to packed houses in a gloriously restored Whiteside Theatre, breathing new life into the downtown business district.

The other consists of unsentimental pragmatists who see a vacant Whiteside as a drain on downtown vitality and yearn for a practical entrepreneur who will convert the old relic into something useful like a mini-mall or a parking garage.

But in the weeks since the Friends won their land-use appeal and derailed the latest retail redevelopment effort, some members of the second camp have reassessed their position.

Downtown businessman Pat Lampton, who testified in favor of the redevelopment proposal before the City Council, said he's still skeptical about the Friends of the Whiteside's chances. Even if they do succeed in buying and restoring the building, he pointed out, that doesn't guarantee it will be financially viable as a performance hall.

But, he added, he's willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

"We'll have to wait and see what these folks are able to do," Lampton said.

"We can't be ruled by our fears about what might happen or what might not happen. The fact that there are people who want to do something is a good thing."

HISTORICTHEATERS

Venetian Theater (Albany)

Built: 1913 Seats: 300

Liberty Theater (Astoria)

Built: 1925 Seats: 670

Tower Theatre (Bend)

Built: 1940 Seats: 476

Egyptian Theatre (Coos Bay)

Built: 1925 Seats: 500

Majestic Theatre (Corvallis)

Built: 1913 Seats: 300

Whiteside Theatre (Corvallis)

Built: 1922 Seats: 960

Harbor Theatre (Florence)

Built: 1938

Rogue Theatre (Grants Pass)

Built: 1938 Seats: 700

Kuhn Theater (Lebanon)

Built: 1936 (rebuilt after fire) Seats: 325

Bijou Theatre (Lincoln City)

Built: 1937 Seats: 174

Craterian Ginger Rogers Theatre (Medford)

Built: 1924 Seats: 800

Rogue Theatre (Merlin)

Built: 1938

Liberty Theatre (North Bend)

Built: 1924 Seats: 1,000

Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (Portland)

Built: 1926 Seats: 2,776

Hollywood Theatre (Portland)

Built: 1926 Seats: 1,500

Grand Theatre (Salem)

Built: 1927 Seats: 1,900

Elsinore Theatre (Salem)

Built: 1926 Seats: 1,290

Palace Theatre (Silverton)

Built: 1935 Seats: 400

Star Cinema (Stayton)

Built: 1949 Seats: 311

Holly Theatre (Talent)

Built: 1930 Seats: 1,200

Civic Theatre (The Dalles)

Built: 1922 Seats: 1,050

Source: League of Historic American Theatres, Friends of the Whiteside