Thursday March 22, 5:08 pm Eastern Time

Press Release

Pasadena's City Council to Decide Fate of Historic Raymond Theatre

PASADENA, Calif.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--March 22, 2001--A 15-year preservation effort to protect Pasadena's historic Raymond Theatre is nearing its end.

On March 26, the Pasadena City Council will decide the fate of one of the Southland's oldest and most beloved landmarks.

The opulent Raymond opened in 1921 as a vaudeville theater. In the 1950s, it was renamed the Crown Theatre, and for decades it operated as one of the top motion-picture theaters in the San Gabriel Valley area. In 1979, the theater changed hands again and reopened as Perkins Palace, which quickly became one of the most popular concert venues in Los Angeles.

People may remember the Raymond fondly in its Perkins Palace heyday for the top performers who graced its stage, including Fleetwood Mac, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Van Halen, Phil Collins, Guns N' Roses, Willie Nelson, Brian Adams, Oingo Boingo, Whitney Houston and Red Hot Chili Peppers -- everyone from Metallica to Peggy Lee.

Perkins Palace has also been the backdrop for major motion pictures, such as ``Spinal Tap,'' ``The Bodyguard,'' ``Pulp Fiction'' and ``Rock and Roll Tonight Live From Perkins Palace.''

In 1986, the music stopped when Pasadena developers Gene and Marilyn Buchanan purchased the Raymond Theatre with the intention of redeveloping it for another use. Over the past 15 years, they have proposed redeveloping the Raymond Theatre into an office building, hotel, gym and modernized nightclub, and they currently have a proposal that, if approved, would convert the Raymond to an apartment/commercial use.

In 1986, concert promoter Gina Zamparelli, who was also the Raymond's manager during the Perkins Palace era, took immediate action and set out to preserve the theater for continued use as a live entertainment venue. She recognized the Raymond as an irreplaceable cultural and historic resource to the community and the entertainment industry.

Zamparelli formed a group of supporters named Friends of the Raymond Theatre, which has currently grown to more than 1,000 strong and has evolved into one of Southern California's largest grass-roots preservation/entertainment groups.

Friends of the Raymond has fought the owner/developer for 15 years, and against all odds it has stopped every multimillion-dollar redevelopment proposed for the Raymond Theatre -- a track record unheard of in preservation circles.

The owner/developer's current project to convert the Raymond Theatre to apartment building/commercial uses has been working its way though the Pasadena City Hall permit process. Friends of the Raymond has once again emerged triumphant, winning every hearing over the past two-year hearing/public review process.

Next Monday, March 26, the Pasadena City Council will cast the final vote on the fate of the 80-year-old landmark. After a 15-year battle -- developer vs. entertainment industry, preservationists and community -- the Pasadena City Council will either choose to ignore all its city advisers and grant the owner/developer the project, or vote in favor of preservation.

The Raymond Theatre is for sale, and, outside of a positive vote by the Council, only a buyer can save it in its 11th hour.

Overflow crowds composed of entertainment-industry members and preservationists are expected to attend the final hearing on the Raymond Theatre. Celebrities from bands such as Oingo Boingo will be on hand. David Lee Roth has released a statement for the media, and even television cast members from ``MASH'' and others will be on hand to show their support.

The City Council hearing is open to the media and the public, and their attendance is invited. Celebrities will be outside the hearing room at 7 p.m. and will available for interviews.

Raymond Theatre City Council hearing information:

WHEN: Monday, March 26 8 p.m.

WHERE: Pasadena City Hall
100 N. Garfield Ave.
Room 247/Council Chambers

Contact:
Friends of the Raymond Theatre
Gina Zamparelli, 818/541-9522
818/541-9523 (fax)
Raymond129@aol.com (e-mail)
www.raymondtheatre.com

Some years ago Joni Mitchell penned a profound little tune that went "Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you got 'till it's gone, a pink paradise; put up a parking lot."

Are we really gonna do that to the Raymond Theater?

Let me just say that aside fron the fact that I will deny deny quoting Joni Mitchell, that the theater is a part of history; and we're gonna tear it down? For what- another Jamba Juice? Another Taquito Mas? How much coffee can one person drink?

The Majesty of Southern California as well as Pasadena's colorful past is slowly but surely being exhausted. Is it less a crime to destroy the painstaking artistry still living in the walls of the Raymond Theater then it would be to obliterate the Pasadena Playhouse?

I've heard it argued that the Raymond isn't earthquake proof. That it can be destroyed by an earthquake is no reason to hasten its demise. To be ravaged by forces of nature has a dignity that simply is not present when the destruction is caused by the greedy forces of man.

Think I'm kidding? Check out my former guitarist.

Do we really need another GAP, another William Sonoma, another Krispy Kreme?

Well, maybe a Krispy Kreme...

But let's don't tear down the Raymond Theater.

There's plenty of room for the future and beyond; This town has always been up around the front bumper of our culture.

There is no question about our capacity to advance and compete in any department.

What we certainly don't need is another Pink Paradise... (unreadable)

Let's preserve the Raymond Theater as the landmark it deserves to be.

David Lee Roth
Pasadena
2001 and Beyond

Evidently my recent statement concerning the Raymond Theatre has caused somewhat of a furor. Surprise, surprise. My joke pertaining to "the guitarist" is as generic as "how many drummers does it take to put in a lightbulb?" It was not in reference to anyone living or otherwise.

Love,
Dave