Tower Theater’s future seems in doubt
The 40th annual Miami Film Festival will return on March 3 with what looks like a great group of films to enjoy. Unfortunately, one key element will be missing: the historic and much beloved Tower Theater on Calle Ocho (Southwest Eighth street).
Tower Theater is no longer available to participate in the festival because the City of Miami, in its infinite lack of wisdom, has closed it. For years, the iconic theater provided the best venue in Miami-Dade County to see movies and the only venue to see movies in Spanish. The theater also was home to several other film festivals.
When the city announced last year it would not be renewing Miami Dade College’s lease to operate the theater, breaking up a two-decade relationship, Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo announced that he had great plans for the theater. However, only vague, incoherent drivel was provided as to what those plans might be.
Over the years, Miami Dade College had poured more than $1 million of capital improvements into the building and would spend about half a million dollars annually to maintain and operate the theater.
Now the theater sits vacant. What will become of it?
If past practices provide any clue, the theater will continue to sit vacant and deteriorate, until it is deemed beyond repair. Then, a developer who has likely already lined various pockets around City Hall, will tear it down, and a concrete box will go up in its place.
Not possible?
If the City of Miami was willing to let a developer secretly pave over 7,000 years of recently discovered Miami history by the Miami River, does a building not quite 100 years old really have a chance?
– Ashby Cathey,
Miami
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