Dear Senator Patrons:

As the soon-to-be former owner of the historic Senator Theatre, I have been following the BDC's Request for Proposal process along with members of the "Friends of The Senator" group, who also serve as Senator volunteers. Only four RFPs were submitted, all from the immediate area. Those meager results indicate that historic theater redevelopment professionals were not consulted before the RFPs were drafted and released.

Experts in the field of historic theater redevelopment should be quickly brought on board by the city to rectify that oversight and add their invaluable expertise to the process.

Despite a somewhat flawed process to date, all of us who love The Senator Theatre may still have good reason to give thanks for the one RFP submission that clearly towers above the others. Towson University's interest in owning and operating The Senator Theatre as a restored and enhanced multi-purpose showcase for a wide array of entertainment and educational programming is a very encouraging development.

At first blush, we're delighted at The Senator with the Towson University RFP, which largely mirrors the vision of an enhanced and protected, nonprofit future for "the People's Theatre," fashioned in the past few years through scores of round table meetings and town hall gatherings in collaboration with historic theater consultants and the extended community.

The added RFP component of public radio station WTMD may well represent a unique, synergistic element to the mix of proposed, expanded uses for The Senator. Hopefully, through a process of evaluation involving area business owners, North Baltimore community leaders, expert historic theater consultants and the BDC, the many merits of the Towson RFP will emerge and be embraced by all.

The Senator Theatre and Towson University are both celebrated, historic institutions that have evolved in close proximity on York Road for over 70 years. It may well be their destiny to be linked together and ensure that the renowned and irreplaceable Senator Theatre will realize its great potential, and in the process be preserved and protected in perpetuity for the enjoyment of generations to come. This cinematic cliffhanger may have a surprise happy ending after all.

See you at the Senator, and go Tigers!

Tom Kiefaber

Readers Respond, Baltimore Sun, November 27, 2009
The writer is longtime owner of The Senator Theatre.