Astor Theatre Condolences

It is with a heavy heart that I acknowledge the passing of the Astor Theatre/Brady Street Pharmacy. The Pharmacyan old school diner/pharmacy combo had evidently insurmountable financial problems. The space, which had, as I understand it, been built as an old cinema house  in 1915.  I hadn't spent the kind of time there to really feel the sense of loss that some people do. My earliest memories of the space were the occasional late '90's breakfast in an atmosphere that felt very much like the late Oriental Drug Store. The drug store portion always  reminded me of the old pseudo-independent pharmacy in the mall I grew-up near. There’s a certain classiness there that a chain pharmacy lacks . . . and then. Of course there was the theatre . . . the stage of which had found an early home for RSVP Productions, Pink Banana and Insurgent Theatre. Classy old cinema seats in front of a stage  . . the entire space searated from the ret of the establishment by a series of wooden slats. The upstairs area was spectacular . . . we once held auditions for a Pink Banana shorts program  in a finely appointed room filled with stylishly framed old lobby cards for movies . . . The space’s owner James Searles had been a strong supporter of the arts, helping not only theatre and dance companies, but also local indie film producers and directors.

The future of the space is uncertain, as there is a lawsuit pending over whether or no the space is going to be sold . . . and there are a number of debts involved, as I understand it. For the time being the space is closed, giving Brady Street a little less personality around the edges with a large, vacant space across from the Roman Coin . . .