This is probably in the best interest of the theatre...

Historic Senator Theatre to be sold at auction
Owner, $90,000 in arrears on mortgage, says he's not ready to 'throw in the towel'
By Nick Madigan
Sun Reporter
Originally published February 6, 2007
The Senator Theatre, one of the last of the nation's once numerous art deco movie palaces and the only one still showing films in Baltimore, is to be sold at a foreclosure auction Feb. 21.

Tom Kiefaber, the Senator's owner, acknowledged yesterday that he is $90,000 in arrears on a $1.2 million mortgage he took out on the 900-seat theater five years ago.

"I'm extremely concerned that I'm about to lose my theater," said Kiefaber, 54, who also owns the two-screen Rotunda Cinematheque and whose family long ago owned dozens of movie houses in Baltimore.

The Senator, at 5904 York Road, with its plush seats, 35-foot ceilings and elaborate murals about the history of entertainment, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Kiefaber, who has faced financial troubles with his theaters before, said 1st Mariner Bank, which holds his loan, believes the Senator "should change hands."

Eugene A. Friedman, the bank's in-house counsel, said that he would have preferred to avoid foreclosure but that Kiefaber has been in default since summer.

"Mr. Kiefaber is a man dedicated to his livelihood," Friedman said. "He's a very nice person to talk to. We wish it would have gone differently."

Larry Hofmeister, a lawyer retained by the bank to handle the auction of the Senator, said Kiefaber has time to make things right. "We're hopeful that Mr. Kiefaber can reinstate the loan, to make it current," Hofmeister said. "We would be very happy if that happened."

Anyone interested in bidding on the ornate single-screen theater, built in 1939, might take note of the current economics of film exhibition, which dictate that it be centered in multiplexes that attract a steady flow of viewers to several films showing concurrently.

"How would you operate it?" James "Buzz" Cusack, principal owner of The Charles Theatre and the Senator's most avid competitor for independent movies, asked of a hypothetical new owner. "With that amount of debt, that's very difficult."

Either way, he said, the auction of the Senator is "a terrible thing."

"That is not good when something fails like that," Cusack said. "It must be terrible for Tom, personally, although he can usually find a way to bail himself out."

Kiefaber was less sure, but he implied that he might come up with a solution.

"I have not dedicated my life to preserving The Senator Theatre for the enjoyment of future generations only to throw in the towel at this stage," he said.

Still, Kiefaber said, he is battling the tides of modern-day economics.

'Bewildered'
"I'm bewildered by what's going on," Kiefaber said. "I feel like I've been walking a tightrope for 18 years."

Kiefaber was referring to the struggle to remain competitive since he purchased the Senator from his family's theater business, Durkee Enterprises, in 1989. The company was founded in Baltimore almost a century ago by Frank Durkee, Kiefaber's grandfather, and at one point owned more than 40 theaters, at a time when there were more than 170 movie houses in the Baltimore area.

Durkee built the Senator, with a circular upper structure of glass blocks and limestone, at a cost of $250,000. At night, fluorescent lamps behind the glass provided a multicolored lighting effect, according to Robert Kirk Headley Jr. in his 1974 book Exit: A History of Movies in Baltimore.

The theater had gold and silver curtains, damask walls and a circular lobby with terrazzo floors. It opened to the public Oct. 5, 1939, with Stanley and Livingstone, starring Spencer Tracy and Nancy Kelly.

City aid unlikely
City officials, who have come to the Senator's aid in the past, say they are unlikely to do so again.

Andrew Frank, deputy mayor for economic development, said last night that Baltimore Development Corp. gave the Senator a $20,000 grant years ago for repairs that enabled it to showcase special effects in a Star Wars movie.

Later, the city, the state and the Abell Foundation funded a $180,000 payment to the Senator, which sits across York Road from recently renovated Belvedere Square. The city's contribution was a loan that called for repayment from the theater's revenues, and it has not been repaid.

More recently, in 2002, the city, through its development arm, agreed to guarantee half of 1st Mariner's $1.2 million loan to Kiefaber to renovate and reopen the Rotunda, which had been closed for more than a year under other owners, and to help shore up the Senator. Kiefaber also put up the Senator, his home and other real estate as collateral, he said.

Frank said it is unlikely that if the bank fails to cover its loan at the auction, the city will be liable for its share of the loan guarantee, $600,000, given the other collateral available.

"I'm confident that it will not be the full amount, and I'm hopeful that it won't be a significant amount," Frank said.


'Sad turn of events'
In any event, said Frank, 40, who remembers going to the Senator as a child to watch movies, the proposed auction is "a sad turn of events."

"Mr. Kiefaber has worked tirelessly over the years to buck the trend toward multiscreen theaters," he said. "And, largely to the credit of Mr. Kiefaber, the Senator is an institution and an anchor in that community. It's a critical piece of real estate on York Road. It was always a treat to see a movie on the big screen at the Senator, and it still is."

I really hope it doesn't close. I understand the problems though. Is there any way they could expand it and renovate it while keeping the old-time look to it? I think it could be very successful with more theatre, but keeping the old charm becomes a real issue then.

Put on a truck and move it to the westside, it would look great with those lights near the Hippodrome. I don't know if someone with some fresh ideas could bring back the glory of The Senator. I really hope so.

It's in a revitalized area... has plenty of dining and retail options right next door at Belvedere Square. Has a great location between Towson, Homewood, Rogers Forge etc... Has the biggest screen I've ever seen in a theater... all that history...

There's so much going for the Senator. It's a shame that it's such hard times. It's still a fantastic place to see a movie though.

This is very very sad. I had my first date with my wife at the senator. We saw Frankenstein with Robert dinero. What a horrible movie, but a great time none the less… I will never forget that place. I also saw saving private ryan there. Amazing on that huge screen. But they stopped getting the good films and belvedere square was in the dumps… Who knows, with the success struever had with Belvedere Square we will buy it on the cheap and keep it going. It’s a magnet for his development so it may be a good loss leader for him.

This could be awful. I think once before I said that if there were on reason why I eventually left Baltimore it would be the slim offerings in theater and movies. Since the Senator and Rotunda account for a lot of the movies I see, that would be a big hit for me, especially if Kiefauber's trouble includes the Rotunda. On the positive side, I think somebody else might make all this work better. Once before, James Cuzak (Charles Theater) wanted to buy the Rotunda when it was available; perhaps he's available since his proposal for the Mechanic appears to have fallen through.

The Senator, is a genuine landmark and anybody who tried to do anything else with the property would probably mobilize preservationists and cinema people all around the US, including quite a number of celebrities. It also has great projection equipment and a sound system that can blow your hair back when the Ringwraiths shriek. I'm hoping that a savior materializes and forces Kiefauber to fix his business model or buys the place. Don't give up hope...all is not lost yet but a lot hangs in the balance, for Baltimore and for Belvedere Square and a lot of people are fed up with Kiefauber.

Well, the seven screen Landmark should be opening this spring in Harbor East. There was also talk of the Rotunda expanding as part of the project there, but with this news, who knows. I'm pretty hopeful that The Senator will remain a theater, whether it stays in Kiefauber's hands or not.

I think we need a theater for Hollywood blockbusters more than anything, with The Charles and soon The Landmark filling the need for art/indie films. I was at The Senator just a few weeks ago to see Jean Renoir's "The Rules of the Game," and while I appreciate good movies as much as the next guy I can't imagine Renoir packs the crowds in these days. Admittedly, it was the last showing on a Sunday, but the theater was only 1/4 full, and it's really no shocker they're having troubles..

Well, the seven screen Landmark should be opening this spring in Harbor East. There was also talk of the Rotunda expanding as part of the project there, but with this news, who knows. I'm pretty hopeful that The Senator will remain a theater, whether it stays in Kiefauber's hands or not.

I think we need a theater for Hollywood blockbusters more than anything, with The Charles and soon The Landmark filling the need for art/indie films. I was at The Senator just a few weeks ago to see Jean Renoir's "The Rules of the Game," and while I appreciate good movies as much as the next guy I can't imagine Renoir packs the crowds in these days. Admittedly, it was the last showing on a Sunday, but the theater was only 1/4 full, and it's really no shocker they're having troubles..

Independent theaters have a basic problem in today's film economy. Studios want to write big contracts with big chains, not deal with one theater. Movie contracts specify a minimum amount of time that the film must run. It it's a dog with no audience a single screen operation like the Senator is stuck for the duration but a cinemaplex has smaller spaces so they can move out the loser while they play a hit on their big screens. I'm hoping that the Landmark will be good but going there will be expensive. The theater will probably charge premium prices and you will probably need to pay to park, none of which are issues at the Charles, Rotunda or Senator which are all cheaper than cineplexes and have free parking.

I don't think that the Senator will disappear but the cinema scene here is so hanging by a thread that we can't afford to lose anything. The Senator is unique in that it has size and technology to support monsters like Star Wars and LOTR with the best experience. The Charles doesn't present big movies very well and the mall complexes are infected with badly behaved teens and middling (at best) equipment. Sad days for a life long movie fan.

...And it doesn't help that box office sales overall have generally been flat for the last few years. A single-screen theater is pretty anachronistic these days as you mentioned, but even if Kiefauber has made some questionable decisions in running the theater, I've got to admire someone who's been dedicated to preserving such a treasure and keeping movies in Baltimore. This is a bit disheartening to hear about, and I've got my fingers crossed and breath held that he'll be able to pull it out.

this is really sad news about the senator. if you ask me, the senator IS baltimore's "hollywood". as you approach it, you see the names of celebrities carved in cement just like you would see in hollywood. let's hope the senator stays and stays FOR GOOD. losing it would truly be a travesty.

This may not be that bad of news. The Senator will certainly not be torn down, and a new owner may run it more competly.

I have read and heard from several people that while kfebiler may have good intentions and really love the cinema he is a terrible buisnessman. Frankly if you read the article I am amazed that this hasn't happened earlier.

...And it doesn't help that box office sales overall have generally been flat for the last few years. A single-screen theater is pretty anachronistic these days as you mentioned, but even if Kiefauber has made some questionable decisions in running the theater, I've got to admire someone who's been dedicated to preserving such a treasure and keeping movies in Baltimore. This is a bit disheartening to hear about, and I've got my fingers crossed and breath held that he'll be able to pull it out.

I wish I had more faith in him. Over the years he has been bailed out by they city, BDC, various "white knights", etc and has proposed building second or third screens attached to the original theater, rebuilding a diner across the street, and somehow things keep coming up in more debt. I have heard from a neighbor that he wanted to tear down a house behind the theater and that the roof of the theater is starting to leak and that he wants to build a cafe in the section of the building to the right of the entrance where he stores popcorn. I wish he had a partner who was a good business person so Tom could focus on doing what he does well, which is being a relentless promoter.

Boy, I really hope someone comes to the rescue on this. It would be completely heartbreaking if the Senator closes. I saw The Wizard of Oz there in '99 for its 60th anniversary. I've also taken my neices and nephews (all 6 of them) to the Senator on opening night of every Harry Potter film. It would really, really suck if I had to take them to Arundel Mills or some other megaplex to continue our tradition!

Senator Theatre owner sees 'flood of interest' in fundraising to pay off debt
Baltimore Business Journal - 3:40 PM EST Monday, February 12, 2007by Julekha DashStaff
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The Senator Theatre has raised close to one-third of the money that it would require to keep the historic theater from being sold by First Mariner Bank at a foreclosure auction Feb. 21.

Owner Thomas Kiefaber has so far raised $32,000 from the public, including many business owners and community leaders in and around Belvedere Square, the redeveloped shopping area where the theater is located.


The Senator, faced with intense competition from suburban multiplexes, is $93,000 in debt to First Mariner Bank.

"There's been a flood of interest in supporting us," locally and nationally, Kiefaber said in an interview Monday.

Kiefaber hopes that he can raise enough money to avert the auction of the 69-year-old theater.

Senator Theatre owner sees 'flood of interest' in fundraising to pay off debt
Baltimore Business Journal - 3:40 PM EST Monday, February 12, 2007by Julekha DashStaff
Print this Article Email this Article Reprints RSS Feeds Most Viewed Most Emailed
The Senator Theatre has raised close to one-third of the money that it would require to keep the historic theater from being sold by First Mariner Bank at a foreclosure auction Feb. 21.

Owner Thomas Kiefaber has so far raised $32,000 from the public, including many business owners and community leaders in and around Belvedere Square, the redeveloped shopping area where the theater is located.


The Senator, faced with intense competition from suburban multiplexes, is $93,000 in debt to First Mariner Bank.

"There's been a flood of interest in supporting us," locally and nationally, Kiefaber said in an interview Monday.

Kiefaber hopes that he can raise enough money to avert the auction of the 69-year-old theater.




geez 93k is peanuts. I can't imagine First Mariner would want all that bad press over that little money.

With Wednesday’s foreclosure deadline looming, embattled Senator Theatre owner Tom Kiefaber said Monday that he still needs more than $20,000 to keep from losing the theater at auction.

As of 3 p.m. Monday, Kiefaber said he had raised $88,200. However, he also said he was notified in a fax from 1st Mariner Bank Friday afternoon that the amount he owed was going up from the $93,000 he first expected to $109,828.64. The increase is due to legal and advertising fees associated with the foreclosure, he said.

The theater is scheduled to be auctioned at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday if the money is not paid.

“I wish I was informed of this from the get-go,” Kiefaber said of the additional $16,000. “It would have been much more helpful.”

He said he had expected a nominal increase but was not prepared for such a large number. “I thought it was going to creep up a little, but this was a quantum leap,” he said.

With so much money already raised, he said that he asked 1st Mariner for a delay but was not granted one. He added, however, that the bank’s representatives have been “helpful and professional, considering the circumstances.”

Attempts to reach 1st Mariner were unsuccessful. The bank was closed for the President’s Day holiday and a call to bank spokeswoman Jennifer Lavin’s cell phone was not returned.

For Kiefaber, the increased payment means that fundraising efforts have to move into a higher gear.

He said he looks at sundown Tuesday as the deadline to get the full amount. The bank needs to be paid with a cashier’s check, which takes time to process.

“I don’t want the sun to come up on the 21st without it,” he said.

To collect the needed funds by Tuesday night, Kiefaber said he will station employees outside the York Road theater to collect money from passing motorists and he will continue to make solicitation calls. He also expects donations to keep pouring in from PayPal and people coming to the theater.

If he is unable to raise enough money to keep the theater, Kiefaber said he will donate the donations to charity.

The Senator opened in Northeast Baltimore in 1939. Kiefaber has owned the theater since 1989.

How would you make a donation to senator via paypal?

Everyone go to Senator.com and make a donation. Let help save the senator.

On the brink of losing his landmark Senator Theatre, Tom Kiefaber said Tuesday night he had raised the nearly $110,000 required to stave off Wednesday's scheduled foreclosure auction of the 68-year-old Baltimore movie palace.

Kiefaber -- whose publicized financial travails with the Senator brought a deluge of contributions from people eager to save it from the fate of many single-screen theaters around the country, said he had presented a bank representative with certified checks Tuesday night for the amount owed.

The receipt from attorney C. Larry Hofmeister Jr. listed three checks totaling $109,828.64, and stated that Wednesday afternoon's auction "has been canceled."

"It wouldn't have happened without this dramatic outpouring of support for the Senator Theatre," Kiefaber said after e-mailing to The Sun a copy of the slip of paper from Hofmeister, an attorney retained by 1st Mariner Bank, which holds the mortgage.

Tuesday afternoon, as nostalgic patrons arrived for what they feared might be one of the final screenings at the Senator -- Music and Lyrics, a romantic comedy starring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore -- some dropped cash and envelopes with checks into a pair of metal film-reel canisters on the sidewalk by the box office. The canisters were emblazoned with the acronym S.O.S. in red letters, for Save Our Senator.

Other contributions have been raining into a PayPal account set up through the theater's Web site after The Sun reported Feb. 6 that Kiefaber -- whose maternal grandfather opened the Senator in 1939 -- was $90,000 in arrears on the $1.2 million mortgage he took out with 1st Mariner five years ago.

The figure had since risen because of lawyers' fees and other costs associated with the auction, fees for which Kiefaber is liable, according to Eugene A. Friedman, the bank's in-house counsel.

Tuesday evening, before Kiefaber announced he had met the goal, Friedman said the bank had no intention of exercising its right to call in the entire $1.2 million loan as long as the owner came up with the past-due sum and related fees.

He said he knew of "several interested parties" who were due in Baltimore Wednesday for the auction, including some from New York and representatives of Arlington Cinema and Draft House, a theater in Arlington, Va., that serves food and drink, and features live music, comedy acts and "family-friendly" events, according to its Web site.

By early evening, the 54-year-old Kiefaber said he was about $4,000 short of his goal but was hoping that a flood of last-minute contributions would save the day.

"I don't want this to be a dramatic, 11th-hour spectacle, saving the theater just before the auction," Kiefaber said at the theater, occasionally interrupted by patrons pressing money into his hands. "I have every intention of making the payment before the auction starts."

Some in a sparse audience attending the 5:30 p.m. screening of Music and Lyrics said they were there because it might have been be the last time chance to see a movie at the Senator -- assuming that a buyer might not continue using the building on York Road to show films.

"We make a point of coming here because the Senator itself is a draw for us," said Jeff Walen, a real estate agent and a Baltimore County schools physical education teacher, who attended with his wife. Walen said he had been watching movies at the Senator for 20 years.

In the afternoon, they checked the theater's Web site to see how the fundraising was going -- then $6,000 short -- and decided to lend support.

So did Joyce Ohl, an area resident who said she had been going to the Senator since 1980.

"I gave $100, and I've encouraged my friends to do that," said Ohl. "The theater just means so much to our community. I would hate for it to go away. We're movie buffs."

But, in a clear indication of the obstacles faced by the 900-seat theater, a count of patrons at the 5:30 screening showed just 40. Upstairs, in a meeting room rented out for special events, a party was being held.

In the lobby, Tom and Pat Jenkins said they'd had their first date at the Senator in about 1961. The movie was The Apartment, starring Jack Lemmon.

"It is Americana," Pat Jenkins said, looking around the ornate circular lobby with frescoes of images from entertainment history. "It's a wonderful place to come."

On the brink of losing his landmark Senator Theatre, Tom Kiefaber said Tuesday night he had raised the nearly $110,000 required to stave off Wednesday's scheduled foreclosure auction of the 68-year-old Baltimore movie palace.
wow, this is really good news. you can't put a value on a place as important as the senator is.

Thats impressive and speaks volumes about the residents of the city of Baltimore.

I was interested in the business run by one of the likely bidders in the cancelled auction. It is an old theater in Alexandria that has a variety of activities including a bar, old flicks, kids movies, musical events, etc. They have a formula that Kiefauber might be interested in.