The Friends of the Historic Terrace Theatre is taking legal action to save the Terrace Theatre, the one-of-a-kind 1951 Space Age Movie Palace located just ten minutes outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Everyone deserves to experience the grandeur of the Terrace Theatre once again.

See PART 1 of the Terrace Theatre story.

Do you know of anyone who would be interested in our story of corporate bullying, unethical moves, unjust and bad faith treatment of a grassroots group by the city and by million/billion dollar corporations? Let us know!

This is a David an Goliath Battle. We need to get maximum word-of-mouth visibility for the cause. Please sign, share this change.org petition and you’ll get story updates in your email.
Please, if you can, please donate at Friends of the Historic Terrace Theatre.
http://www.terracefriends.org

Here’s an update from the change.org site from 082816.
A One-of-a-Kind Space Age Movie Palace is about to be demolished! Help us Negotiate a win-win solution.

A Private Citizen Who Wishes to Save the Historic Terrace Theatre

AUG 29, 2016 — Dear Friends,
http://www.terracefriends.org
Do you know of anyone who would be interested in our story — corporate bullying, unethical moves, unjust and bad faith treatment of a grassroots group by the city and by million/billion dollar corporations?

Not gonna mince words here. Please donate Bernie-style if you can. We really need to get broad visibility of this David and Goliath drama.
http://www.terracefriends.org

It’s been a very dramatic two weeks for our mid-century modern Terrace Theater, but the Space Age Movie Palace is still standing.

On Tuesday August 23nd, the City Council voted to demolish the theater a full month earlier than had ever been mentioned before, without even having an application request on file. We had just three days to take action.

Here are two articles that review the events of the last two weeks:
“Attorneys agree to pause in Terrace Theatre demolition, judge sets Sept. 13 hearing.”
http://post.mnsun.com/2016/08/25/terrace-theatre-demolition/
“Robbinsdale council approves Terrace Theatre teardown; lawsuit filed to halt demolition. Vote comes as lawsuit seeks restraining order against site’s razing.”
http://www.startribune.com/as-robbinsdale-city-council-debates-terrace-theatre-teardown-lawsuit-is-filed-to-halt-demolition/391110101/
In the past two weeks there have been a series of seemingly unethical moves which threw us into a legal panic.
If we had not had an attorney who was able to act in two days, it would have been a completely different story.

As of 4:30 Thursday, Aug 25, we have a Temporary Restraining Order until our next court date on Tuesday, Sept 13th.
As near as I can gather, here’s a dateline of the last two weeks of actions to a sudden acceleration to demolish:

– Aug 16th Tuesday
The grassroots group meets with their attorney for the first time.
He will bring the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act (MERA) suit that has saved other the mid-century modern Peavey Plaza in Minneapolis.
He tells us we have a solid case. It is in fact a very historical building in many ways.
We must also prove it is in reasonable condition for restoration and will need a court-recognized Structural Engineer’s assessment.

– Aug 18 Thursday
The grocer HyVee makes a surprise announcement that it has “pulled back” because of a boycott petition –
http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2016/08/19/hy-vee-halts-robbinsdale-grocery-store-plans-due.html
We think this is a good sign. That is not at all the case.

– Aug 19th Friday
The very next day Brixmor (worth millions) / Blackstone (worth Billions) applied to the city for DEMOLITION –
A full month earlier than had been ever stated.
Luckily someone saw it posted on the city site otherwise the results might have been catastrophic.
We alert our attorney.

– Aug 23nd Tuesday evening
the City Council votes to demolish, even though they state they have no such application request on file.
– The grass root group’s new Temporary Restraining Order is prepared and may now be filed.
There is a well-qualified rumor that demolition will begin early morning before it can get to court the next day.
 Volunteers watch throughout the night to be sure no heavy machinery is staged at the site or at any adjoining properties.

– Aug 24th, Wednesday
At 8:31am we were notified, “the hearing for the Temporary Restraining Order is set at the Hennepin County Government Center Thursday at 12:30 in room C953.” The site is quiet. Volunteers keep watch throughout the day.

– Aug 25th, Thursday
At 10:00am, attorneys for the owners Brixmore/Blackstone, ask to delay the hearing. We asked, “Why delay? That means more time for them to prepare. Be wary. Brixmor does this all the time … they know the ways to win …”.
 Only then did we learn that a demolition permit had been applied for through the state pollution board on Friday Aug 19th for demolition by large contractor Fratallone for this coming Monday the 29th — way too close for comfort.

– Aug 26th, Friday, and through the weekend
We’ve been wary of utility trucks and workers marking the site. Otherwise, it’s been quiet.

– Aug 29th, Monday
Volunteers will be on hand to watch to be sure Frattalone, who has the contract for demolition, is not on site.

Our Attorney tells us we have  a solid case. It is not only beautiful, it is in fact a very historical building in many ways.
Along with an Architectural Historian we will need a Structural Engineer to describe the condition of the theater as we must also prove it is in reasonable condition for restoration, a solid business plan which seems to be in the works and fundraising, fundraising, fundraising. Please donate and share here:
http://www.terracefriends.org

Clifford Clinton created his forest oasis during the Great Depression in 1935. Inspired by the family’s tradition of service, he created a world “… of imagination, dreams and whimsy—away from the troubles that we hope can be left at the door for just a short while.”

Ray Bradbury, Jack Kerouac, Robert A. Heinlein, Jerry Leiber and Walt Disney have all been loyal patrons. (This fantasy forest was completed twenty years before Disneyland.)

Check before you go—Clifton’s is under restoration. This year the Clinton family sold Clifton’s to luxury night club creator Andrew Meieran. His plans for preservation offer some hope—he transformed the old downtown powerhouse into the very nice
Edison nightclub.

Meieran will be adding a speakeasy, a cocktail bar and more, but also promises to restore Clifton’s original facade and old time charm, including re-creating the Water Wheel,
Old Tree Wishing Well, Limeade Springs, Sherbet Mine, and the long-employed greeter—a stuffed raccoon.   “All existing historic fabric will be thoughtfully and carefully retained—including the Chapel, the Waterfall and Brook, … the Redwood trees and Terraces—the elements that have made Clifton’s an institution for so many decades.”

Magically kitchy, Clifton’s Cafeteria is worth a special visit.
Clifton’s Cafeteria, 648 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90014, telephone: 213.627.1673.

Check out the panarama the L.A. Times created for Clifton’s Cafeteria.

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UPDATE:
#thejellostays
After a four year restoration, Clifton’s Cafeteria  will conduct it’s preview celebration on September 17, 2015 and reopens October 1st. Let’s cross our fingers. The Los Angeles Conservancy has already praised Andrew Meieran’s preservation of Clifton’s ground floor and mezzanine and there’s been a lot of good press in the LA area.
And the jello? Yes, #thejellostays.

There were a few urban pioneers back then. One bright spot on South Street was a shop whose walls were covered inside and out with fanciful mirrored mosaics and drawings on ceramic. The Eyes Gallery imported South American molas, masks and ceramics, and its’ mosaics created a lively spirit amidst the urban decay.

Much to my delight 0n a rare walk down South Street this past winter, everywhere I looked I found those same fanciful mosaics I’d remembered. Big mosaics on alley walls, building fronts and door stoops. Not only had South Street become an urban shopping and entertainment destination, the mosaic magic had grown way beyond the old gallery storefront and into the whole neighborhood.

It was on this walk I discovered the ultimate expression of this great extravagance—a complete multi-level garden full of sculpture and imagination. While Isaiah Zagar, the mosaic artist and husband of the Eyes Gallery owner, was decorating surfaces throughout his neighborhood, he’d also spent fourteen years excavating and decorating tunnels and grottos on a three thousand square foot vacant lot next to his studio on South Street.

In 2004 the owner of the lot was ready to sell.  Fearful of losing their treasure, the neighborhood bought the property and created the nonprofit Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, and dedicated themselves to preserving Isaiah’s garden and his other prolific mosaics on South Street. And now Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens is open to amaze every day of the year with tours, workshops and events.

Check out Part 1 if you missed it—complete with photos of the Wright models on display.

It’s the Marin County Civic Center, a sprawling, low-slung building with it’s blue roof and golden spire, set deep into the hills of Marin.

It was Frank Lloyd Wright’s last commission and his only civic building—and it’s celebrating it’s 40th anniversary this year. I’d passed by a number of times, but this time I had the presence of mind and a little extra time to stop and explore.

This post is part one. It hints at the original models and historical documents on display at the civic center that describe how the project got off the ground—and how it nearly met a terrible demise.

Watch for Part 2, a photo essay that explores more of Frank Lloyd Wright’s last commission.