For decades, the Senator Theatre was the venue where the biggest films made their Baltimore premieres. John Waters, Barry Levinson, and other Charm City filmmakers revealed their works to the world first in this grand, old-style moviehouse.
So last year, when the Senator closed, people wondered what would be in store for the Art Deco structure, which opened in 1939. The Senator, in the Govans neighborhood just south of the Towson area, near both affluent and impoverished neighborhoods. Across the street is an old department store that has been renovated into high-end shops and restaurants.
Now Towson University has stepped forward with a plan to renovate and save the Senator. According to the Baltimore Sun, the plan would transform the theater into a multipurpose performing-arts center and the new home for WTMD, the college’s public-radio station.
The main competitor for Towson’s plan is one put forward by the owner of the Charles Theatre, the city’s leading independent-film venue.
Towson University made a short film to support its bid. You can watch it below.
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2 Responses to Towson U. Makes Bid for Baltimore’s Historic Senator Theatre
lauraserena - January 30, 2010 at 10:54 am
This article has most everything right, except The Senator never closed. It remains open on a daily basis. It instead ceased exclusively featuring first run films, and shifted its programming model to demonstrate a wider variety of multi-purpose uses, similar to what the Towson University WTMD RFP plans to establish at The Senator to expand it capabilities and preserve the theatre for the enjoyment of future generations.I am a volunteer at the theatre, and we believe it is crucial that The Senator be owned by a non-profit that can use capital campaigns to raise the millions of dollars that will be needed to restore and maintain this significant historic building, designed by Baltimore architect John J. Zink, Jr., and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Towson University/WTMD bid would accomplish that.
koufax33 - February 2, 2010 at 10:05 am
I wonder if the University of Baltimore or University of Maryland-Baltimore, were approached. It seems like Towson, while somewhat nearby, wouldn’t be the logical first choice?