Prominent journalist Stephen Henderson is among Detroiters disappointed by news that the Ren Cen 4 movie theater shuts tonight, as Crain's reports.
Stephen Henderson: "This is the kind of stuff that makes middle-class families say hell no to living in Detroit." (Facebook photo)
The Free Press editorial page editor, who also hosts "Detroit Today" on WDET, reacts as a parent, a civic booster and a movie fan. He agrees to let us repost this comment from his Facebook page, where he links to Natalie Broda's article at the business publication:
We talk a lot about whether Detroit is "coming back" or not, but rarely does stuff like this enter the conversation. If you live here, and especially if you're raising kids here, basic quality of life issues remain really confounding.
And I'll say it: This is the kind of stuff that makes middle-class families say hell no to living in Detroit. Yes, it's just a movie theater. And it's far from the most important economic development in the city's core, let alone in desperately un-serviced neighborhoods.
But the closing of the only first-run movie theater even close to the CBD [central business district] is not a good sign of the city's health. If you can't sustain four screens in the RenCen, today, what does that say about what's going on in downtown and Midtown?
I grew up with this theater around the corner; I take my children there all the time. Losing it, for me, is a sign of continued, pitiful decline -- right in the center of all the excitement.
There is a soft underbelly to our "comeback" that goes far beyond the plight of neighborhoods.
Original article, Tuesday afternoon:
Detroit business and entertainment core continues gaining slick spots to dine, drink and dance. But forget about catching a movie there.
Natalie Broda tells why at Crain's:
Tonight, when the lights go down at the Ren Cen 4 movie theater, it will be for the last time.
The theater, located on the second floor of the 200 Tower at the GM Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit, will shut its doors today after nearly 30 years of operation.
Concession counter at the Ren Cen 4.
The final films are "Inside Out," "Jurassic World," "San Andreas" and "Entourage."
The old-school theater, where film still is threaded into projectors in this digital era, has four screens and 680 seats overall -- compared to 16 screens at the MJR Troy Grand Digital site that opened in Troy last year.
“Larger theater spaces are required for a more comfortable experience overall, and the theater space here has always been limited,” publicist Tina Kozak tells Crain's. "That space was satisfactory for moviegoing experiences of the past, not the current moviegoer.”
Ken Coleman, whose family lives at an Elmwood Park Plaza co-op on Chene Street near downtown, reacts on Facebook: "Damn! I hate driving 8, 10 and 20 miles to see a movie. Can't have a comeback without a downtown first-run movie theater." The 47-year-old father voices hope that "Dan Gilbert, the mayor of downtown Detroit, will address the need."
-- Alan Stamm
