Save the Portage!

As you may or may not have heard, the Portage Theater is threatened with extinction.

For those of you who haven't heard, here's the condensed version: The owner of the building that houses the Portage, several shops and apartments put it up for sale last year. The proposed buyer is Chicago Tabernacle, a church organization on the Northwest Side that wants to greatly expand the space for their congregation. Unfortunately, that would mean shutting down the Portage as a movie theater and removing the marquee. The Portage, as we know it, would be no more.

As you might imagine, this caused all sorts of alarms to ring for cinephiles, architecture buffs, business owners in the Six Corners district and the local alderman, John Arena. (Ald. Arena received hundreds of messages in opposition to the proposed change--and only one in favor.) There have been rallies at the theater and vocal shows of support for the theater at Zoning Board meetings. There is even a Facebook page dedicated to the cause.

In spite of all this vocal opposition and the presence of many viable options--lots of empty churches and plenty of buildings that could be converted for this worthy use--Chicago Tabernacle is pressing forward, trying to get the zoning change necessary to make the conversion. Why they would want to make such an unpopular move that would alienate the very neighbors and businesses they would like on their side--a move that would hurt a host of businesses and individuals in a very personal way and would wipe out a successful, popular business to boot--is well beyond me. They have the legal right to do so, however, so forward they go.

To voice my own opposition, I wrote the following letter to the chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals, Jonathan Swain, and mailed it this past Tuesday:

Dear Chairman Swain:

I am writing in opposition to Chicago Tabernacle's request to change the zoning status of the Portage Theater to allow the theater to be converted into a house of worship.

My opposition has nothing to do with Chicago Tabernacle's status as a religious organization. I live several blocks away from their current location (at the corner of Berteau and Troy) and have always regarded them as a good neighbor and a positive influence. Rather, my opposition has everything to do with the economic disaster this zoning change would rain down on the Six Corners business district—a district I visit frequently due to the presence of the Portage (especially during the annual Silent Summer Film Festival).

Had Chicago Tabernacle proposed this change a decade ago, when the Portage was sitting empty and abandoned, Portage Park and Six Corners business likely would have welcomed this proposal with open arms. However, that is no longer the case—the Portage is not empty and abandoned and has not been for quite some time. It is a entrepreneurial success story of which all of Chicago should be proud.

In neighborhoods across the North Side, movie houses act as economic magnets, drawing patrons not only to the theaters themselves, but to surrounding businesses: Bars, restaurants, grocery stores, clothing shops and book vendors. Ask the restaurant owners along Southport how they'd feel if the Music Box were to shut down. Ask the businesses surrounding the Logan how well they did when that theater closed down for renovations last year—and how happy they are now that it's open again. Ask the shop operators around Portage Park's own Patio, which reopened last year after closing in 2001, how much business has picked up in the last year. Ask the folks at the Daily Bar & Grill, Laurie's Planet of Sound and Essence of India how they'd feel if the four screens of the Davis suddenly went dark.

That last one isn't merely theoretical—it almost happened.

Just over a decade ago, the Davis was threatened with closure. The building's then-owner put it up for sale, and a developer wanted to buy the property, convert the apartments into condominiums and use the theater space for parking. The neighborhood spoke up loudly in opposition to this proposed zoning change—just as Portage Park is speaking up loudly now—and the developer, much to his credit, withdrew his bid for the building. Another buyer was found, and, all these years later, the Davis still thrills audiences with the latest Hollywood blockbusters while still drawing customers to many diverse businesses all over Lincoln Square.

The Portage does the same thing for Six Corners—it draws people from all over the city to experience not only its eclectic programming—from horror films and independent cinema to film noir classics and forgotten gems of the silent era—but to enjoy the restaurants and shops within short walking distance of this 90-plus-year-old institution.

As I noted above, the Portage Theater is an entrepreneurial success story. Please do not bring that story to an abrupt, premature end. Please don not deliver what would not only be an emotional blow to fans of classic cinema and architecture, but a very real, devastating blow to the businesses that currently surround the Portage and to any businesses planning to come to Six Corners and enhance what already is an exciting, vital business district.

Please do not grant Chicago Tabernacle's request to change the zoning status of the Portage Theater to allow the theater to be converted into a house of worship.

Thank you, Chairman Swain, for your time and consideration.

The next Zoning Board of Appeals meeting in tomorrow, July 20, at 2 p.m. in the City Council chambers. A decision may well be made regarding the future (or lack thereof) of this much-beloved movie house. I plan to be there.