Efforts to preserve Fort Worth’s historic single-screen movie theaters are brewing within the community, but it won’t be easy.

The future of Fort Worth’s historic single-screen movie theaters, such as the Poly Theater, is being considered after the recent demolition of the Berry Theater.

The costs of restoring them present a considerable challenge to owners, leading to them often being knocked down or converted into something new.

As covered previously in The Dallas Express, wrecking crews tore down the 83-year-old Berry Theater last month because the revamp would have cost the owner — Mission Travis Mercy — too much money.

Although the nonprofit plans on using the site to build a new health center for treating area residents for free, some residents were reluctant to let go of the Berry, as reported in The Dallas Express.

John Roberts, former chair of Historic Fort Worth’s board of directors, suggested that the community initiative fell short on time.

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“It was a surprise,” Roberts said, per NBC 5 DFW. “We didn’t think it was coming down that fast.”

Other local historic movie theaters had seen similar fates, such as the Azle Theater, which was transformed into an event space, or the Bowie Theater, which was reincarnated as Frost Bank.

Some have just been left to their own demise, such as the Poly Theater and the Grand Theater, both of which served as churches before becoming dormant.

Jerre Tracy, executive director of the non-profit group Historic Fort Worth, suggested that the cultural legacy of these historic movie theaters makes them worth saving.

“People remember what they saw and the popcorn they shared, so if you lose them you lose a connection to the past and a connection to the future,” said Tracy, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Historic Fort Worth has been trying to build awareness and drum up support for restoring and preserving historic single-screen theaters and other endangered sites.

More than entertainment venues, advocates like Tracy view movie theaters as vital spaces for fostering unity and camaraderie within the community.

Building owner Jeffrey Smith restored the New Isis Theater to the tune of several million dollars for this very reason.

“It was very much a vital fabric to the community in trying to be connected to and providing support for the community at large,” Smith said, according to the Star-Telegram. “It’s more than a theater.”

Chaz Buchannan, who remodeled the Haltom Theater into a music venue in 2018 and spent a hefty $750,000 on the project, said that he believes passion is the driving force behind such undertakings.

“If you look at it as a rundown pile where you haven’t even got the trash out of it, then there’s really no way to tackle it,” Buchannan said, per the Star-Telegram.

Currently, the fate of the Poly Theater nestled within Polytechnic Heights hangs in the balance.

Its owner recently put the building — a buzzing cinema from 1951 to 1984 — on the market for $200,000.

Drayone Jones, a 43-year-old lifelong resident of the area, is considering ways to convert the theater into a valuable community asset, the Star-Telegram reported.

As the head of a newly formed non-profit organization called Be Entrepreneurial – Make A Difference, he sees the building as a potential headquarters in which Fort Worth’s historic cultural heritage can be a valuable resource to future generations.