Vacant Von Lee's fate still under construction

It has been dark inside the Von Lee Theater for more than a year. The screens have been pulled down and the seats torn up, as the fate of one of Bloomington's oldest theaters is still in question.\nBuilt in 1928, the Von Lee, 517 E. Kirkwood Ave., served as a theater before being converted into a grocery and bakery a few years later. In 1948, the building was purchased and converted into a movie theater that primarily featured art films. The Von Lee continued to operate as an art theater after its purchase by Kerasotes in 1976. \nThe theater has been closed since May 25, 2000 when the "Big Dig," a project to improve the downtown storm sewer system, made the area almost impossible to navigate. At the same time, Kerasotes opened Showplace 12 on Bloomington's west side. \nBob Gallivan, director of real estate for Kerasotes, said these factors, combined with a "lack of business," led the company to close the theater. Gallivan said the 73-year-old theater has removed much of its equipment, including the seats, in anticipation of the building's sale.\nWith the conversion of the former Indiana Theater into the Buskirk-Chumley playhouse, the downtown area is now completely without a cinema. But in the hope of restoring cinema to downtown Bloomington, local activists are campaigning for the facility to be used as an arthouse film venue. The theater in the Kirkwood area serves an important purpose, said Chris Sturbaum of the Bloomington Save the Von Lee Committee.\n"People want a theater downtown," he said.\nA Von Lee arts cinema and the Kerasotes-run facilities could co-exist, Sturbaum said.\n"(The Von Lee) would not be a threat to their screens," he said.\nBloomington Mayor John Fernandez agrees a downtown theater would benefit the community.\n"For the downtown and the community to lack a downtown cinema is disappointing," he said. \nAnd there is nothing preventing another theater company, such as General Cinemas or Hoyt, from opening a facility to serve the downtown community, Fernandez said, although no other theater company has expressed interest in moving into the Bloomington area.\nFor a time, it seemed IU would purchase the abandoned Von Lee, but in recent months the University has said it is no longer interested in the facility, Gallivan said. IU examined the possibility of converting the Von Lee into three movie-capable classroom facilities, but has since abandoned the plan.\n"(IU) looked at (the Von Lee) and passed," Gallivan said.\nSeveral messages left for Lynn Coyne, assistant vice president for Administration, were not returned by press time Thursday.