Khamar Hopkins Sunday, February 24, 2019 AAD 612 - Marketing and the Arts Michael Crowley

Community Profile for The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Parkway Theatre

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Parkway Theatre, or better known as the Parkway, is a historic theatre located in the heart of ’s Station North Arts and Entertainment

District that recently reopened its doors in the spring of 2017. The Parkway first opened its doors on October 23rd, 1915, with the feature premiere of Zaza, directed by Hugh Ford and

Edwin S. Porter, and starring Pauline Fredrick.i During its first decade the Parkway would screen

Paramount movies, had an orchestra, an organ, a cameraman, and could seat up to 1100 patrons. In 1926 the theatre was purchased and remodeled by Loews Incorporated, also known as Loew’s Cineplex Entertainment Corporation (as of January 26, 2006, Loews was acquired by

AMC Entertainment Inc.)ii and 2 years later it got rid of its orchestra for Vitaphone and

Movietone sound systems, and could now only seat 950 customers. The theatre would continue to function as a Loews theatre until it closed during the summer of 1952.

With its next owner, Morris Mechanic, the Parkway had a short-lived season as a live theatre before it closed again. On May 24th, 1956, the Parkway reopened under the new name,

5 West, with the premiere of Ladykillers, and started rebranding itself as an art-house cinema.

The new 5 West cinema could only hold 435 guests and provided great entertainment to the local community along with its neighboring theatres, but it started to struggle in the late 1970’s and then closed its doors again in the winter of 1978. After sitting vacant for decades, the

Maryland Film Festival (MdFF) purchased the theatre from the city. Plans to renovate the

Parkway began in 2012 but construction didn’t start until 2016 once the funding was acquired.

The international philanthropic organization, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, gave the and its partners (John Hopkins University and the Maryland Institute of

Art) a generous donation of $5 million to complete the project.iii On May 3rd, 2017, the new SNF

Parkway Theatre finally reopened its doors again with the screening of the 19th annual

Maryland Film Festival.

Today the Parkway theatre can seat over 500 patrons, has an auditorium, two smaller theatres, state-of-the-art projection and sound systems, concessions, bar/lounge area, and is the headquarters for the Maryland Film Festival.iv The theatre’s board members and staff have worked very hard to provide a wide variety of films from/and for every demographic, and host curated film events that truly highlight film as an art form. Their selection of films and events attract students, artists, movie goers, and locals from all over Baltimore and its surrounding area. According to PRIZM Premier data provided by Claritas, LLC,v majority of people who make up the community surrounding the theatre are low income (<$15K), single/not married with no children, African American, 1-person households, with people ages ranging from ages

25-34. The Parkway locals still don’t represent Baltimore city as a whole though.

According to a Governing analysis of 2009-2013 American Community Survey, 23.2% of eligible tracts that make up the city of Baltimore have been gentrified from 2000-2010, compared to the 9% from the 1990-2000.vi Gentrification grew by 14.2% which is an overall

157.8% increase of gentrification rates from the 1990-2000 decade. If this trend were to continue to grow at a rate of increase of at least 157.8% from the data from the 2000-2010 decade then Baltimore could be looking at a gentrification increase of an additional 22.4 points which would bring the total gentrification of eligible tracts to 36.6% by the year 2020.

Gentrification probably won’t increase at that rate because on April 12th, 2015, Baltimore Police

2 arrested 25-year-old Freddie Gray, and while in transport to the police department Freddie sustained injuries to his neck and spine which he died from; this incident triggered a strong emotional reaction from the community which led them to start a string of riots and protests to bring light to Freddie Grays injustice/police brutality and to help their voices be heard nationally. This whole incident made Baltimore seem like a more dangerous place and definitely turned some gentrifiers away.

Gentrification is an opportunity and a threat at the same time. On one hand, gentrification is renovating old neighborhoods/areas, decreasing crime, and filling them with younger, more wealthy citizens which is a sign of economic growth, but on the other hand, that economic growth of gentrification isn’t shared by the neighborhood's/area's old residents. With gentrification property tax increases, along with funding to local public schools. While the older residents’ benefit from cleaner, safer streets, and new schools and such, they are almost always priced out because they can’t afford the new/more expensive economic activity in their area.

Gentrification causes lower-income residents to become economically and socially marginalized which leads to bigger problems such as racial and class tensions. Gentrification can hurt the ethnic diversity of a neighborhood and also harm its culture.

Despite the increase in gentrification and the economic growth that goes with,

Baltimore still has a poor economy. According to data on www.bestplaces.netvii: the unemployment rate in Baltimore is 6.5% while nationally it’s 5.2%, the income tax rate is 11% while nationally it’s 4.6%, and the average household income is $41,819 while nationally it’s

$53,482. Despite not making the same amount of money as the national average, Baltimore is increasing with high future job potential thanks to the Baltimore Development Corporation. The

3 Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC) is a non-profit organization that serves as the economic development agency for the city. Their mission is to sustain and expand existing businesses, as well as attract new economy growing and job creating opportunities.viii In 2017 alone they: assisted 131 local businesses, helped retain 2,184 jobs, helped create 1,896 jobs, issued six RFPs (Request for Proposals) consisting of 21 of city owned parcels, finalized eight land disposition agreements, and even more.ix They even have 140 acres of key commercial area along Pennsylvania and W. North Avenue designated to encourage investment in distressed neighborhoods by providing tax credits to help prompt private investment. While

Baltimore’s economy is poor now it’s destined to have an economic boom one day.

There is currently no legislation negatively effecting the arts or education as they relate to the Parkway of the community at large. The Parkway itself has become a hub for artist and students alike to visit to watch and learn more about film. One change occurring in consumer lifestyle that could affect the Parkway is the rise of streaming services like Netflix and Hulu.

Parkway staff works hard to curate and screen films that aren’t too mainstream and can’t be found online but that still doesn’t change the fact that streaming services are also producing more interesting content themselves and you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your house to enjoy them. Still these streaming services shouldn’t have a major hit on the theatre because people don’t only go the Parkway to watch films but for the social aspect, which you cannot get in your own home.

The Parkway has only been open for almost two years so it’s still attracting steady high participation numbers because it’s new. Also, thanks to the Maryland Film Festivals partnerships with local schools, professors are constantly telling their students that they need

4 to go, some even require students to do so for papers on films. There are many other privately- owned movie theatres around the city that have been there for years so there’s definitely a market. The major market segment in this community is young, tech savvy, liberals with no kids, who are either students or just starting out in their careers, and who live in apartments and row houses, and have active social lives.x The Parkways direct competition are other privately owned theatres in Baltimore such as The Charles Theatre, the Harbor East Landmark

Theatre, and the , and larger theatre chains such as Cinemark, AMC, and Regal

Theatres. Some indirect competition would be streaming services like Netflix, art museums like the , sporting events such as the Baltimore Ravens football games or the Baltimore Orioles baseball games, or other local attractions such as Graffiti Alley or the

National Aquarium. Some modern-day trends that a lot of the bigger theatre chains are adopting are dining services during the movie and 4D SFX Motion Seats. If the Parkway ever starts to struggle or if they become more popular maybe the Parkway can adopt some of those trends.

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Parkway Theatre has had its up and downs in the past but now it’s found a solid owner and team, and a stable audience to establish itself as a core part of a growing community. Even though Baltimore’s economy isn’t ideal, the Parkway

Theatre is a prime example of an institution that is bringing back jobs and economic growth to the city. Despite all of its competition the SNF Parkway Theatre keeps its audience coming back with their exclusive curated premieres and showcases. The Parkway may have closed its doors physically in the past, but its spirit has never died in the city and now it’s constantly growing and thriving every day.

5 Works Cited

i “Parkway History” MdFF https://mdfilmfest.com/parkway-history/ . Accessed February 23, 2019 ii “Company Overview of Loews Cineplex Entertainment Corporation” Bloomberg https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=386467 . Accessed February 23, 2019 iii Woolever, Lydia. “The Parkway Theatre to Reopen in 2016” Baltimore Magazine, October 20,2014 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/2014/10/20/the-parkway-theatre-to-reopen-in-2016 . Accessed February 23, 2019 iv “About the Parkway” MdFF https://mdfilmfest.com/about-the-parkway/ . Accessed February 23, 2019 v “PRIZM Premier” Claritas https://claritas360.claritas.com/mybestsegments/?ID=20&menuOption=ziplookup&pageName=ZIP% 2BCode%2BLookup#zipLookup . Accessed February 23, 2019 vi “Baltimore Gentrification Maps and Data” Governing Magazine http://www.governing.com/gov-data/baltimore-gentrification-maps-demographic-data.html . Accessed February 23, 2019 vii “Economy in Baltimore, Maryland” BestPlaces https://www.bestplaces.net/economy/city/maryland/baltimore . Accessed February 23, 2019 viii “About BDC” Baltimore Development Corporation http://baltimoredevelopment.com/about-bdc/ . Accessed February 23, 2019 ix “Baltimore Means Business.” Baltimore Development Corporation http://baltimoredevelopment.com/ . Accessed February 23, 2019 x “31 – Connected Bohemians” Claritas https://claritas360.claritas.com/mybestsegments/#segDetail/PZP/31 . Accessed February 23, 2019

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