New buildings do not make everything better. Innovation and creativity in the use of any building or business are the key to revival.

So what do we do with that old building?

Photo source: North Village Center draft EIR

The option of a community center and library is quaint but self defeating. Community centers are often underutilized and libraries are too often closed due to lack of funding. A restored building that is continually closed is just as bad as an abandoned building.

A good principle to follow is that private enterprise will bring better concepts and results than government-run situations. A city owned facility never has to worry about being successful. A private business must work hard to survive and do more to please the community. And this is all about the community and its needs and legacy.

Another interesting suggestion brought forward was to turn the Atlantic into another Art Theater, a facility that seems to do so well over on 4th Street. This is an interesting concept but lacks the larger picture. The Art Theater is a reflection of the community it serves. A small movie house screening off beat offerings and Rocky Horror on the weekend is not the same situation and need that North Town presents. North Town is more diverse, expansive, and holds different interests than an elite movie house would serve.

Here are a few of the ideas that I believe are feasible:

Have you seen the immense popularity of the It’s a Grind coffee house on Pine Ave. on Thursdays? Their ‘open mike’ nights have created a large, long term venue for people meeting and enjoying each other and the entertainment. Audiences come each week to hear all manner of music and take pleasure in their favorite artists. I can only imagine what a larger facility, offering the same possibilities, could do for the Atlantic Theater and North Town in general.

Have you watched the amazing success of "Glee" on TV? Imagine a theater that promotes music and dance choreography and competition among the fine high schools in Long Beach and beyond. Imagine the continuing staging of live shows and the encouragement of people of all ages to explore, develop and ply their talents.

The Atlantic can be a home for our local Shakespeare Company, our Community Playhouse, and other performing artists and arts that fall below the capacity standards of the Terrace Theater and above the limits of intimate enclaves and outside the restrictions of school auditoriums. And, oh yes -- it is in North Town. It can be the pride of North Town.

The furniture store can be the focus of practical education via private enterprise that was long ago deleted from public schools. A Mathnasium center for private tutoring, a cooking school to teach home economics (you recall home-ec, don’t you?) which is especially relevant in our current economy.

Think of all the old and practical things that now take on new and renewed meaning in our time. Those are the institutes that should be involved in the furniture store area of the complex. They could even create the costumes for the Theater group productions.

The key to this, once again, is that it is private enterprise, not a government entity that runs this building and show. Private enterprise must work to survive and thrive. It must adapt to stay ahead. Government never has that need -- or motivation. And the community will support businesses that support it and help it to reach new heights. And yes, those shops and eateries that will be flanking this renewed Atlantic Theater will thrive.

The developers who would spend money to raze the Atlantic should be persuaded to invest funds to improve and restore it, create a better sound system, lighting and adaptive interior uses.

The Boller Brothers, who built the Atlantic Theater in 1942, went on to create an entire style of Theater palaces in many Southern California cities. The Atlantic was the benchmark for the style. We should take a lesson from the past and re-create the Atlantic Theater to become the new benchmark for creative re-use, historic preservation and community development utilizing the past as a link to the future. And communities everywhere will look to our lead and emulate us.

Or we can settle for another strip mall and a parking lot. The choice is ours to make.

Make your Choice. And let it be known to all.

Related LBReport.com coverage: