Baltimore City took ownership of the Senator Theatre after a brief and raucous auction Wednesday, and officials say they want to move forward quickly to develop a permanent plan for the 70-year-old landmark.
"The bottom line is, now it is in our hands," said Mayor Sheila Dixon. "We can move fast and aggressively to find the best, responsible business - be it profit or nonprofit - who can manage and handle this theater."
City leaders want the theater to continue to show films or to showcase the performing arts and now will look for someone to own or operate the Senator. At least two prominent local businessmen - developer David Cordish and the Charles Theatre's operator, James "Buzz" Cusack - said they might be interested in running the venue under the right conditions.
Wednesday's auction drew one anonymous bid, for $800,000, and the city, which has owned the financially troubled theater's mortgage since May, topped that by $10,000 to keep control of the theater.
First Deputy Mayor Andrew B. Frank said that this was "the outcome that we expected and hoped for," adding that the auction wiped out two other liens on the building and gave the city a clear title to the 900-seat theater.
Frank pledged that the city's efforts to find an owner or operator would be "a wide-open transparent process" that would "rebuild trust with the community and other stakeholders."
Uncertainty over the theater's future had created some tensions among the Senator's neighbors and supporters. City officials were criticized both for being overly aggressive in taking charge of the theater and for not doing enough to support it - often by the same people.
The former owner, Thomas Kiefaber, will be allowed to show films there until the city formally takes possession of the property in 60 to 90 days.
A crowd of several hundred, including actors who had appeared in movies screened at the Senator, gathered on the sidewalk below the theater's signature marquee to watch - and, in some cases, heckle - the sale. The marquee announced the auction in all capital letters as if it were a Hollywood blockbuster and promised "free beer."
Only four bidders arrived with the $50,000 required to participate in the auction, according to a city attorney. Auction officials would not confirm the number of registered bidders.
Despite several protests and disruptions, the sale began on schedule at 11 a.m., and auctioneer Paul Cooper set the opening price at $750,000. A staff member of the auction house, acting on behalf of an anonymous bidder, offered $800,000.
