Efforts to preserve Carlsbad’s 99-year-old downtown movie theater could get a boost from the Carlsbad City Council.
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Councilmember Melanie Burkholder, with the council’s unanimous support, asked the city manager Tuesday to investigate “any options for the council to consider that might assist in the preservation of this historic property.”
She also suggested staffers consider whether financial assistance for the old Carlsbad Theater would fall under Proposition H, passed by city voters in 1982.
Prop. H prohibited the city from spending more than $1 million to acquire or improve property without a vote of support by residents. An amendment approved by voters in 2024 boosted the minimum to a little more than $3 million and added an annual cost adjustment.
The theater on State Street in the Village has been vacant for years. The commercial real estate company RAF Pacific Group, also known as RPG, bought the building in 2017 and so far has been unsuccessful in selling or leasing it.
Ken Kebow, a Carlsbad filmmaker and video producer, formed the Save the Carlsbad Theater group about three years ago to lead efforts to preserve the property. That has helped to highlight the old building’s dilemma, but it remains at risk of disappearing.
“Business and community leaders have rallied over the years to call attention to the historic building seeking grassroots support to save the theater and perhaps help convert that part of the Village into an arts and theater district,” Burkholder said Tuesday.
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“As of today, the theater remains closed with its future in doubt,” she said. “As the City Council representative for the Village, I am aware of these calls for action and while I am not sure saving the theater is something for government to solve solely on its own, I do recognize the value of preserving the unique history and character of our Village.”
Like its neighboring cities of Oceanside and Encinitas, downtown Carlsbad has seen a proliferation of new restaurants, shops and residential buildings in recent years.
The first film shown at the theater was the silent feature “It,” starring screen icon Clara Bow, in 1927 when movie tickets cost 25 cents each. It showed regular movies well into the 1980s. Since then, it has been used off and on for various events between lengthy closures.
The theater is in the heart of Carlsbad’s downtown Village neighborhood. It’s a half-block from the Coaster train station and within walking distance of beachfront motels, outdoor restaurants, coffee shops, retail stores and other attractions.
It’s also across the street from the New Village Arts Theatre, which stages live performances in its 100-seat theater and a 60-seat cabaret in a renovated hardware and lumber building leased from the city.
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