Theater’s Demise Seen as Setback to Ventura’s Revival

VENTURA — A day after the new managers of the Ventura Theatre announced that they face imminent eviction, city officials and merchants expressed disappointment that the renovated Art Deco concert hall--a symbol of downtown’s budding renaissance--may now languish indefinitely.

“I’d hate to God if they close it,” said Mayor Jack Tingstrom, who returned from out of town to news of the theater’s closure. “With these new people, the way they were talking, and what they wanted to do, it sounded like it could do so much for downtown. I just hope they don’t lose it.”

After pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into building renovations, Backstreet Entertainment is now facing eviction on Monday for falling two months behind in rent, said co-manager Daniel Catullo.

Theater owner Angelo Elardo, who served Backstreet with the eviction notice, has declined to comment on his plans for the theater.

Councilman Jim Friedman said he found the situation disheartening.

“We are on such a roll downtown,” he said. “To have this negative glitch pop up is really disappointing.”

But many merchants, while disappointed, worried that the theater’s recent financial problems may point to a larger problem: moving too fast in revitalizing the city’s historic center.

“It’s the iceberg that may sink downtown,” said Keith Burns, owner of Books on Main. Many storefront owners, he said, are already raising rents and moving toward month-to-month leases in anticipation of downtown redevelopment.

“Landlords shouldn’t try to make a killing in anticipation of grand tomorrows,” Burns said. “And tenants shouldn’t panic. I hope this will be a wake-up call for other tenants and landlords downtown--to work together and walk slowly toward redevelopment.”

Nearby storekeepers watched in recent months as workmen painted, wired and renovated the old theater. They said they, too, were disappointed. And disconcerted.

“It’s a little bit scary,” said Denise Sindelar, who works across the street at Natalie’s Fine Threads. “In one week the theater falls through, the [Ventura] Independent closes down, and Danica House moves. Is everything going to grind to a halt?”

Less than three months ago, Backstreet Entertainment’s Catullo and his partner, Glenis Gross, signed a lease with Elardo to take over management of theater, built in 1928 as an opera house.

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With promises to attract big-name acts and a variety of shows ranging from Bob Dylan to dinner theater, they spent lavishly on renovations for the tattered old theater that was once the jewel of Ventura.

Coming as it did, as the city prepares to break ground on a 10-screen multiplex theater and five-story parking structure, the theater seemed to symbolize all the dreams of a reinvigorated downtown.

Merchants and city officials were excited about the ambitious goals Gross and Catullo laid out.

“I was very excited about their plans, very supportive of their desire to bring the Ventura Theatre back to its glory days,” said Tim O’Neil, president of the Downtown Ventura Assn.

He said he was particularly excited about their intention to attract a broader range of entertainment.

“The groups they were planning to bring back were more than rock concerts and the more new-wave type of music that is geared toward the young and the frivolous,” he said. “They were bringing back musicals, dinner shows, family entertainment, and artists that are popular with a whole range of audiences.”

But others said they were wary from the beginning.

“I’ve known for almost two months that it was doomed,” said Councilman Gary Tuttle. “They gave the bar proceeds away to Elardo. And everyone knows you can’t make it without the bar.”

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But Natalie Siman, of Natalie’s Fine Threads, said perhaps there is a lesson to be learned.

“Maybe developers will realize that Ventura isn’t a sure bet,” she said, referring to developer Victor K. Georgino, who is building the movie theater downtown. “People get so sure this is the next L.A. But this place is four years behind. People can’t just plunk down and charge $2 a foot for space. Ventura is not like Santa Barbara, Los Angeles or Pasadena.”

Councilman Steve Bennett agreed.

“Look at what’s happened downtown. It’s boomed too much,” said Bennett, who said he hopes somebody can get into the renovated theater soon. “I’m disappointed. It’s an important site that can play an important role in revitalization. Particularly because we are trying to focus on the downtown as an entertainment center.”

But some, like Councilwoman Rosa Lee Measures, cling to the hope that something can still be worked out between Elardo and Backstreet Entertainment.

“An investment in the theater now couldn’t be a more opportune time, with respect to the renaissance of our historic downtown,” she said. “This leads me to believe that it could all be resolved. That’s my hope.”