Finale or encore for historic Takoma Theatre?

Owner applies to tear down building in District

Built in the early 1920s, the theater, sits at the corner of Fourth and Butternut streets NW just across the Maryland border in Takoma, D.C. The building is mostly quiet now, other than the amateur talent shows held there about twice a month.

The application to raze the building was filed with the Washington, D.C., Historic Preservation Office Feb. 7, said Sean Madigan, a spokesman with the Washington, D.C., Office of Planning. The next step will be to schedule a hearing, after which recommendations will be made by the preservation office. As far as he knows, this was the first time an application was filed to raze the Takoma Theatre, Madigan said.

‘‘It’s just not worth the time, or the effort anymore,” said Washington, D.C., resident Milton McGinty, owner of the theater. ‘‘And the building is in shambles.”

Behind the scenes

McGinty bought the theater in 1983 for $325,000, with the intention of using it to showcase his own plays, which he said he couldn’t get produced otherwise. Until 1995, McGinty put on his plays, which he said were sparsely attended in the 516-seat venue, and at times negatively reviewed. In the 11 years he produced plays at the theater, he put in $100,000 in renovations, with thousands more to cover production costs he never made back from ticket sales.

Performances at the theater were rare after McGinty produced his last play. In 2002, a nonprofit group approached McGinty about attracting new artists to the space and promoting the theater to what it saw as a built-in base of theatergoers in the Takoma Park and Takoma, D.C., communities.

Both McGinty and former members of the community group, the Takoma Theatre Arts Project, disagree as to why the efforts dwindled by 2005. Those with the project say they were unable to apply for sufficient grant funding because McGinty would not agree to a long-term lease, an important criteria in applying for outside funds. McGinty says he refused to give the nonprofit a long-term lease because the group lacked sound accounting records and professional managers.

‘‘We had high hopes for it,” said Loretta Neumann, who helped found the Takoma Theatre Arts Project as then-vice president of Historic Takoma. ‘‘I think there were some very sophisticated people involved who knew theater, and some ‘Oh gee, we love theater’ people. They worked their hearts out ... but they couldn’t go after the big money.”

Final curtain call?

McGinty admits he’s not hopeful he will be granted approval to level the building, but has been meeting with members of the nearby community’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions to give them what he feels are ‘‘obvious reasons” to start over at the site.

‘‘He’s a very sensitive guy,” said Faith Wheeler, a commissioner for ANC 4B, which includes the theater. ‘‘We’ve had good conversations. ... I do think he feels cornered right now.”

McGinty said there’s more work to be done than most realize to make the theater viable again. The leaky roof needs to be replaced. The bathrooms need upgrades. The ‘‘elementary” heating and cooling system needs improvements. The building is not handicapped-accessible.

McGinty added that he would entertain offers from serious buyers who would take over the maintenance of the building.

Several groups have expressed interest in bringing their troupes to the theater. The Washington Shakespeare Company out of Arlington, Va., for one, pursued moving their group from Virginia to the Takoma Theater last year. More recently, two community groups have approached Baron about using the theater.

Ed Maudlin, a Takoma Park actor and director, is starting up his own comedy theater company — Brand Name Theatre — with his wife. The Takoma Theatre would be an ideal location, he said, with the Takoma Metro station nearby and what appears to be a versatile space.

But McGinty needs to see more than just a good idea to give up ownership.

‘‘It’s one thing to say, ‘We’d like to come in and use it.’ But how much are you willing to put in?” McGinty said. ‘‘If you’ve got the hundreds of thousands of dollars to put into it that it needs, I’ll listen. Are you willing to pay enough to put it up to code, at least? I’ll listen if you do.”