The Senator Theatre is a historic single-screen
Art DecoArt deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
movie theater located at 5904
York RoadMaryland Route 45 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as York Road, the state highway runs from U.S. Route 1 in Baltimore north to the Pennsylvania state line in Maryland Line, where the highway continues as SR 3001...
in the Govans section of Baltimore,
MarylandMaryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
21212. It shows first run movies as well as classics.
The theater ceased showing first-run films on 15 March 2009. New managers Buzz and Kathleen Cusack have renovated the theater and plan further renovations; they intend to reopen the theater on 15 October 2010. The theater is now operating and showing movies.
Architecture
The Senator Theatre is an Art Deco landmark built by E. Eyring for Durkee Enterprises at an original cost of $250,000. It opened to the public Oct. 5, 1939. The first movie it featured was
Stanley and LivingstoneStanley and Livingstone is a movie about reporter Sir Henry M. Stanley's quest for Dr. David Livingstone, a missionary presumed lost in Africa. Spencer Tracy played Stanley, Sir Cedric Hardwicke portrayed Livingstone, and other cast members included Nancy Kelly, Walter Brennan, Charles Coburn,...
, starring
Spencer TracySpencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
and
Nancy KellyNancy Kelly was an American actress, who was a movie leading lady in the 1930s, making 36 movies between 1926 and 1977, including portraying Tyrone Power's love interest in the classic Jesse James , which also featured Henry Fonda, and playing opposite Spencer Tracy in Stanley and Livingstone...
. The architect,
John Jacob ZinkJohn Jacob Zink was an American architect who designed movie houses in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore.-Life:He studied at the Maryland Institute, and practiced with Wyatt and Nolting. He studied at the Columbia School of Architecture. He worked with architect Thomas W. Lamb. He worked for Ewald G...
, designed the Senator with a circular upper structure of glass blocks and limestone. Multicolored backlighting of the glass block was added to produce a dramatic effect at night.
The lobby still features the original terrazzo floors, and art deco murals about the history of performing arts. A massive gold curtain still opens to dramatically reveal the screen before each performance. The theatre’s interior is accented by a back lit sun-burst at the apex of the screen, and rainbow prisms in the recessed ceiling. "Originally, it had 1150 seats but that has gone down to 900."
The Senator Theatre also has two skyboxes for private parties. They are connected by a mezzanine overlooking the outer lobby and can host up to 40 people.
The sidewalk in front of the theatre features a ‘walk of fame’ which highlights local cinematic accomplishments.
The Senator Theater was added to the
National Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1989.
On March 5, 2007, the Baltimore City Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation (CHAP) is scheduled to review and vote on the proposed Baltimore City Landmark designation for the Senator Theatre .
Technical specifications
The Senator Theatre boasts a massive, modern 40 ft curved screen, state of the art projection systems, and Dolby Digital sound with surround EX. Today, the Senator Theatre mainly showcases first run movies. It is able to screen films in 35mm or 70mm. Equipment includes a Bauer U2 projector with top of the line German lenses.
In 2003, the Senator was selected to become the first venue to complete the Historic Cinema Certification Program offered by
THX Ltd.THX is a trade name of a high-fidelity audio/visual reproduction standard for movie theaters, screening rooms, home theaters, computer speakers, gaming consoles, and car audio systems. The current THX was created in 2001 when it spun off from Lucasfilm Ltd...
, the San-Rafael, California based company founded by
George LucasGeorge Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
. The special skyboxes are also equipped with user-controlled digital sound.
The snack bar offers traditional movie house snacks, and freshly popped, hot popcorn, with real butter upon request. Tickets are now $9 each.
Notoriety
Many celebrities have attended movie premiers, fundraisers, and screenings at the Senator. They include:
Matt DamonMatthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...
,
Matthew McConaugheyMatthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...
,
John TravoltaJohn Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
,
Joaquin PhoenixJoaquin Rafael Phoenix , formerly credited as Leaf Phoenix, is an American film actor. He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and his family returned to the continental United States four years later...
,
Salma HayekSalma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez de Pinault is a Mexican film actress, director and producer. She received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role as Frida Kahlo in the film Frida.-Early life:...
, and
Edward NortonEdward Harrison Norton is an American actor, screenwriter, film director and producer. In 1996, his supporting role in the courtroom drama Primal Fear garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor...
.
The Senator Theatre’s facade has been featured in many movies and commercials. It was featured prominently in the cult film
Cecil B. DementedCecil B. Demented is a 2000 black comedy film written and directed by John Waters. The film stars Melanie Griffith as a snobby A-list Hollywood actress who is kidnapped by a band of terrorist filmmakers who force her to star in their underground film...
, which showcased historic theatres around Baltimore. The theatre can also be seen in the movies
Twelve Monkeys12 Monkeys is a 1995 science fiction film directed by Terry Gilliam, inspired by Chris Marker's 1962 short film La jetée, and starring Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, and Christopher Plummer....
,
DinerDiner is a 1982 comedy-drama film written and directed by Barry Levinson. Levinson's screen directing debut, Diner is the first in his "Baltimore films", which also include the subsequent Tin Men, Avalon and Liberty Heights.-Plot:...
and
AvalonAvalon is a feature film directed by Barry Levinson. It is a mostly autobiographical story of a family of Polish-Jewish immigrants to the United States who settle in Baltimore, Maryland, at the beginning of the 20th century. The movie follows the family as they grow, become more prosperous, and...
.
Directors
John WatersJohn Samuel Waters, Jr. is an American filmmaker, actor, stand-up comedian, writer, journalist, visual artist, and art collector, who rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films...
and
Barry LevinsonBarry Levinson is an American screenwriter, film director, actor, and producer of film and television. His films include Good Morning, Vietnam, Sleepers and Rain Man.-Early life:...
premiere most of their films at the Senator. It often hosts East Coast premieres of films shot in and around Baltimore, including
Ladder 49Ladder 49 is a 2004 film about the heroics of a Baltimore fireman Jack Morrison, who is trapped inside a warehouse fire and his recollection of the events that got him to that point. The movie is a celebration of the firefighting profession and the life that comes with it...
,
Runaway BrideRunaway Bride is a 1999 American romantic comedy film starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere and directed by Garry Marshall. The screenplay was written by Josann McGibbon, Audrey Wells and Sara Parriott.-Plot:...
and
The Accidental TouristThe Accidental Tourist is a 1985 novel by Anne Tyler that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction...
. The theatre also showcases films starring Baltimore area natives like
Edward NortonEdward Harrison Norton is an American actor, screenwriter, film director and producer. In 1996, his supporting role in the courtroom drama Primal Fear garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor...
and
Jada Pinkett SmithJada Koren Pinkett Smith is an American actress, producer, director, author, singer-songwriter, and businesswoman. She began her career in 1990, when she made a guest appearance in the short-lived sitcom True Colors. She starred in A Different World, produced by Bill Cosby, and she featured...
.
Several books feature the Senator Theatre, including
Cinema Treasures,
Popcorn Palaces,
Exit: A History of Movies in Baltimore and
Motion Picture Exhibition in Baltimore: An Illustrated History and Directory of Theatres.
- The August 5th, 2005 issue of Entertainment Weekly Magazine ranked the Senator Theater fourth on the list of “10 Theaters doing it right… movie houses that make watching films a dream”.
- In its September 29, 2003 edition, USA Today declared the Senator Theatre to be one of America’s best “Places to see a classic cinema”.
- In 2001, the National Trust for Historical Preservation designated the Senator as America's quintessential independent historic movie house.
On May 19, 2003 the National Main Street Center of the National Trust for Historic Preservation honored owner Tom Kiefaber with the “2003 Business Leadership Award”. The award was “in recognition of his tireless advocacy for historic, independent movie theaters".
Fundraisers
The Senator Theatre routinely hosts special events that have raised millions of dollars for local charities.
- Each December, the Senator holds an annual Holiday Classics Series on the large screen as a means of raising donations of food and cash to the Maryland Food Bank. "It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
" and "A Christmas CarolScrooge, released as A Christmas Carol in the United States, is a 1951 film adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. It starred Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge and was directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, with a screenplay by Noel Langley.The film also features Kathleen Harrison in an...
" are usually shown.
- On February 22, 2007, the Senator Theatre hosted an American Heart Association Go Red for Women campaign fundraiser starring Gretchen Wilson
Gretchen Frances Wilson is an American country music artist. She made her debut in 2004 with the Grammy Award-winning single "Redneck Woman," a number-one hit on the Billboard country charts. The song served as the lead-off single of her debut album, Here for the Party...
.
Special Screenings
The Senator Theatre has been the site of extended camp-outs where diehard fans await tickets for premieres of epic movie offerings, including series like
Star WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
,
Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
, and
Harry PotterHarry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
. It is also the place where Maryland’s big media franchises typically go to cover movie openings, and interview hardcore fans. The theatre has also hosted midnight shows of fan favorites such as the
Star WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
movies.
The Senator Theatre is a primary venue for the Maryland Film Festival .
The Senator also hosts free screenings classic films in cooperation with community enrichment initiatives.
- The 1928 silent comedy classic "Speedy
Speedy is a 1928 silent film that was one of the films to be nominated for the short-lived Academy Award for Best Director of a Comedy. It starred famous comedian Harold Lloyd in the eponymous leading role, and it was his last silent film to be released in theatres. The film was written by Albert...
" starring Harold LloydHarold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. was an American film actor and producer, most famous for his silent comedies....
was screened on February 19, 2007. It was accompanied by live music from Alloy OrchestraAlloy Orchestra is a musical ensemble based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, that performs its own accompaniments to silent films of the classic movie era. Percussionists Terry Donahue and Ken Winokur and keyboardist Caleb Sampson founded the group in 1990...
as part of Loyola College's 2007 Humanities Symposium..
- A free screening of "To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1962 American drama film adaptation of Harper Lee's novel of the same name directed by Robert Mulligan. It stars Mary Badham in the role of Scout and Gregory Peck in the role of Atticus Finch....
" (1962) starring Gregory Peck was held on Saturday, March 24, 2007.
Recent struggles
The Senator theatre was scheduled to be auctioned on February 21, 2007. The auction was avoided due to $109,000 (USD) in donations through a grassroots campaign.
The Senator’s struggles have been attributed to a practice known as “clearance“. Movie "clearing" or blocking occurs when rival theatres, usually multiplexes, invoke agreements with distribution houses to exclude a nearby theatre from ever concurrently running the same films that are running on any of their screens. The Senator's former owner, Tom Kiefaber explained: "We eventually overcame the (rival multiplexes') clearance, but without equal access to the first-run lifeblood of the film exhibition industry during that difficult period, we were forced to accumulate debt that is a continuing detriment to the economic viability of The Senator Theatre.“ The good news is that "if we are able to avert the auction sale...our district will soon become a ’free zone’ and the primary impediment to our profitability, a restrictive film clearance...by an independent Baltimore multiplex... will soon come to a blessed end.“
"(O)ur well-established, activist, anti-film clearance position (has been) outlined… in the national, [but alas not local] media coverage we have received over the years on the subject… in The New York Times, US News and World Report, Forbes Small Business Magazine, USA Today, CBS Sunday Morning, and ABC News among others."
The Senator Theatre ceased showing first run movies on 15 March 2009. According to their website, "Senator Theatre management has announced that the screening of
Watchmen on Sunday evening, March 15th, was the final first-run film to be shown at the renowned theatre in its 70 year history." It was revealed the theatre was again facing possible foreclosure.
On March 16, 2009, a town hall meeting was held by the local neighborhoods to rally support to save the Senator Theatre from the pending foreclosure and make it into a cultural center. No general agreement could be made to determine an effort in moving forward in the community's efforts to save the theatre. Attendees were told to wait a few more days as the neighborhood trust releases more details.
The Baltimore Sun noted the following on March 17, 2009: "The Senator Theatre stopped selling tickets Sunday night, as owner Tom Kiefaber unexpectedly closed the financially troubled movie house."
The City of Baltimore bought the mortgage to the Theatre in May 2009, and purchased the property (essentially from itself) at auction on July 23, 2009.
New owners have renovated the theater and plan additional renovations following its scheduled October 15, 2010 reopening. These include an additional screen, a small-plate restaurant, and a bar inside the lobby. They have uncovered original wooden paneling in the lobby's rotunda.
External links