Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. –George Santayana

I don't get it. I know in some ways I am naive. And quixotic. And I am completely lacking expertise in business, architecture, and Long Beach history.

So maybe this is a dumb question, but is razing the Atlantic Theater really the best thing that can be done with it?

I grew up in Fullerton, and downtown we had the Fox Theatre. As a kid when I saw Midway and E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial there, even if I'd known it was built in 1925, that fact would have meant nothing to me. And frankly, since there were other movie theaters around, I wouldn't have cared if it were torn down and converted to residential or retail space. That even would have made good sense to “the me” of the mid 1990s, when the theater had fallen into complete desuetude. Why not do something with it, right? My thinking on these things didn't go much beyond the immediate present.

But I would have been wrong. Because there it remains today, in the midst of renovation, persevering amongst the sometimes-dubious gentrification around it. In August the Fullerton Redevelopment Agency, even in these tough economic times, loaned the Fox Historic Theatre Foundation $6 million. That's because they have the foresight to envision the day when the theater re-opens and the story of that part of Harbor Boulevard is one of retainment and not of loss, one in which past and present comfortably coexist, one in which the entire community has come out ahead. (Isn't that the case with the Art Theatre on 4th Street?)

It's not that I would call myself a dyed-in-the-wool preservationist; meanwhile, 'modernite' is a label that fits me. I like state-of-the-art [fill in the blank] as much as the next guy. Moreover, I'm not enamored of the concept of 'roots'; and if I use the term 'heritage,' 99 times out of 100 I am quoting somebody.

But wastefulness is something I despise. And my aforesaid lack of expertise on Long Beach history doesn't prevent me from being aware that our city has wasted many of its unique architectural resources in the generic name of change or modernization or attempting (and often failing, anyway) to drum up short-term business.

And so when I first became aware of the Atlantic and the likelihood that it will be torn down to make way for housing and more businesses, like many others, my reaction was: Again? I mean, if there's a quota of how many buildings eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (such as the Atlantic) we tear down, somebody better check the tally, because we've probably exceeded it.

It might be one thing if every time we rolled out the wrecking ball, something better and more unique went up. Then one could argue that our loss of history was being more than offset by a gain in quality. But I'm not sure anyone could make that argument around here without blushing. I also think it would be difficult to find anyone who would say that Long Beach, however unique it remains, isn't a little more like a typical Orange County city and a bit less like San Francisco than it very easily might have been.

In my simplemindedness, I'd like to see the Atlantic renovated and (re)used as—duh—a cinema. Unfortunately, since we've torn down the Crest and Towne Theaters, it is too late to have a theater at the center of the current effort to reenergize the Bixby Knolls art scene; but an independent cinema in North Long Beach—particularly one showing films you can't easily find at a multiplex—might still contribute to a general area revival. It makes for a destination for those within Long Beach and for denizens of outlying areas. And unless I'm misinformed, attracting more of the latter (i.e., as a steady drizzle added to annual microbursts such as the Grand Prix and Pride Weekend) is something Long Beach needs—badly—to move to the next level.

But I have to think that almost any purpose to which the existing structure might be put (two of the proposed alternatives are a library and a community center) would be a more profitable part of the big picture than the theater's giving way to mixed-use residential/retail construction. My reasoning is simple: Are we really so lacking in either that we can't do better than have more on this specific site? Is there a shortage of available housing in North Long Beach? Will people flock to buy or rent the new properties? Is there really a consumer base to support whatever businesses go in there? Because as it is we've got an abundance of empty storefronts where businesses once existed.

With the EXPO Building, our own Redevelopment Agency has already had the chance to see what creative reuse can do in North Long Beach. Isn't that something worth building upon?

Perhaps I really don't know what I'm talking about here. Perhaps discarding what we have in the Atlantic Theater is really the best thing we can do. But my bias is toward conserving until truly compelled to do otherwise. Because once you trash something, game over. Then all you can do is put one more picture up on the wall, one more picture of what Long Beach used to have, next to all those others you find lined up all over town. The pictures are nice, but we probably have enough of them. Don't you think?

If you agree, Long Beach Heritage suggests the following:

Letters of support for the adaptive reuse of the Atlantic Theater should be addressed to the Redevelopment Agency and/or staff, as well as Val Lerch, Vice Mayor and Council Member from the 9th District, where the Atlantic Theater is located.

E-mail the RDA Staff: craig.beck@longbeach.gov or amy.bodek@longbeach.gov.

Letters to individual Board members — Bill Baker, Chair; Diane Arnold, Vice Chair; John Cross, Vivian Tobias, Teer Strickland, John Thomas — can be sent to the City Hall address: Long Beach Redevelopment Agency, 333 West Ocean Blvd., 3rd Floor, Long Beach CA 90802 or email to RDA@longbeach.gov.

9th District Council Member: Send letters to Val Lerch, Vice Chair City Council, 333 Ocean, 14th Floor, Long Beach , CA 90802 or by email at val.lerch@longbeach.gov.

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