I heard a very disturbing rumor last night and it really bothered me. There is apparently a sale being quietly brokered of the historic Tower Theatre on the corner of Olive and Wishon avenues. On pretty good authority it seems that Adventure Church, a conservative anti-gay group, who has been having church services at the perennial historic landmark on Sundays is trying to purchase the building out right.
This really turns my stomach for a whole range of reasons but let me itemize of few of them really quick…
- If the Tower Theatre is a bona-fide historical landmark can a church group just write a check and purchase it with no notice, no accountability to the neighborhood, or any public hearings?
- What impact would this have on our local gay film festival?
- Is the building properly zoned for use by a church?
- What impact might this have on our local gay pride parade that usually culminates on the corner of Olive and Wishon avenues right in front of the theatre?
- Where in the hell does a local non-profit church group get the $6.5M to make such a purchase with no one noticing?
Again, let me reiterate that as of this morning, this might all be just a bunch of malarkey churned out of the Great Rumor Mill in the sky…but I promise you on the grave of the old Queer Fresno, we will help get to the bottom of this. If you have any information on this disturbing rumor please drop us a line and let us know. You can also register on this site and leave a comment below.