The Liberty Theater is the cornerstone of the Astoria renaissance. Bringing back a historic building in the middle downtown has caused other investment. (Fundraiser will keep curtain up at Liberty Theater, The Daily Astorian, June 24.)

I’ve observed similar rebirths in Salem with the Elsinore Theater and in Bend with the Tower Theater.  These are some of the best urban renewal stories in Oregon, and they’ve been led by volunteers and nonprofit organizations.

Once a theater like the Liberty is restored, it has to generate income in order to survive. The Liberty is doing that – with healthy bookings throughout the year. But anyone in the theater world will tell you that theaters cannot survive on ticket sales and theater rentals alone. That is why every major theater venue in America has an annual fundraiser in order to meet operating expenses. We are doing this Tuesday.

Beyond the urban renewal/rejuvenation of an old building, the Liberty Theater’s ongoing impact is that it brings life to a major corner of downtown Astoria. It hosts daytime shows for school children. It houses weeknight and weekend events that involve music, dance and theater. The theater and its McTavish Room also host weddings, parties and company meetings. The Theater was at capacity for the 25th Anniversary showing of The Goonies. In other words, this is all the stuff of downtown commerce. It brings business to restaurants, shops and hotels.

The best thing about the Liberty Theater’s ownership by a nonprofit organization is that this vital piece of real estate is locally owned and operated. No one is going to swoop in from corporate headquarters in Portland or Seattle and close it down. But the flip side is that we all need to step up once a year to sustain the operations of this theater whose existence helps fuel our local economy.

– Betsy Johnson

Scapppose

Betsy Johnson is state senator for the North Coast.