What's old will be new again

I got the chance to tour the Merced Theatre last weekend during the foundation's ice cream social, held to raise money for the building's restoration. The once-majestic interior -- complete with a faux Spanish courtyard -- remains bland and depressing.

It made me furious.

United Artists and other companies ruined so many beautiful theaters when it took them over and converted them into multiplexes to compete with the trend of the day. It happened to the Senator Theatre back in Chico, my hometown. While the multiplex walls have been torn down, the restoration effort there isn't nearly as far along as Merced's.

For some reason, I'm a sucker for these relics. So much of today's architecture lacks any sort of soul. When was the last time you saw a U.S. Post Office as phenomenal as the one on 18th Street? A theater with a gorgeous interior like this?

If all goes to plan, we will.