Silver City -- Management of the Silco Theater in historic downtown Silver City will soon return to Silver City MainStreet, taking the day-to-day operations back to its non-profit roots. Charmeine Wait, executive director of Silver City MainStreet, said current managers Bob Grunstein and Joe Navan of Silco Revival LLC decided not to renew their lease, at least in part due to major shifts in the movie theater business, namely online streaming and the COVID pandemic's impact on ticket sales.
The directors of Silver City MainStreet, a local non-profit now in its 36th year of operation, have served as landlord of the Silco since 2006. Wait, who's led MainStreet since 2017, said she and the organization's directors are excited about creating new opportunities for the Silco and the community, in collaboration with residents and other civic groups, including the Silver City Museum, Silver City Community Theater, the Western Institute of Lifelong Learning (WILL) and others.
"The Silco will continue to be a gem and shining light for our downtown and an important economic driver," said Wait. "We're very excited about this opportunity to expand the theater's use, a model which has proven successful in many other communities. We're very grateful to each of the past operators for their contributions to the Silco story, and we really appreciate the ongoing support of town management."
Historically the Silco is one of the highest-grossing single-screen theaters in the Western U.S., and was purchased by the town in collaboration with Silver City MainStreet in 2006, when its board agreed to raise the money needed to renovate the 1926 art deco theater. Other historic theaters in New Mexico and throughout the U.S. are using this same business model: town-owned and managed by a local non-profit. Examples include the successful Flickinger Theater in Socorro, as well as theaters in Las Cruces, Lovington and Clayton, New Mexico.
Silver City Town Manager Alex Brown said he is confident that MainStreet is the right choice for overseeing the Silco's daily operations, especially given nonprofits' greater fundraising flexibility and MainStreet's deep roots in the community.
"Silver City MainStreet is one of the oldest, continuously operated programs in the state, and received the prestigious, national Great American MainStreet Award in 2011," he said. "The Town of Silver City has worked with MainStreet for decades now as partners in support of our downtown businesses and economic development efforts. I'm certain there are great things to come for the Silco and its many supporters."
New uses for the Silco being bandied about include a performance stage with a moveable screen to better accommodate Silver's lively local music scene as well as other live performance - Silver City Community Theater, for instance, is looking for a home. Curated film festivals and a movie/film club are also being considered.
First and second-run films will continue to be shown at least part of the week, and Wait said she expects to offer a first-run film when the Silco reopens in early November. First-run films present a greater financial challenge due to higher commissions on tickets sales, she said, but the Silco will continue to be used as a movie house, which is a requirement of the New Mexico MainStreet's Historic Theater Preservation Project, which the Silco is a part of.
MainStreet will be hiring a part-time cultural coordinator to identify, book and coordinate artists and events for the Silco, added Wait, as well a part-time projectionist and a concession sales person. The Silco will be vacated by current management by September 30.
In the meantime Wait and others are busy reaching out to local community members and businesses to hear their ideas and offer suggestions as to how they might benefit from the theater's new management direction, such as collaborating with downtown restaurants to offer unique, Silco-exclusive concession items and special, dinner-movie night packages.
Everyone is welcome to participate in a brief, online survey regarding the Silco and how the 156-seat venue could be used. To take the survey, visit silvercitymainstreet.com.
For more information about Silver City MainStreet or the Silco Theater or to make a donation to the Silco, please call (575) 534-1700, or contact Charmeine Wait at charmeine@silvercitymainstreet.com.