Grand old buildings sit empty and vandalized in downtown Tacoma. Others are sold to the highest bidder, leading to uncertain rent prices or eviction for the local storefronts inside. This is a fate hoping to be avoided by occupants of the Merlino Arts Center building who are backing The Grand Cinema’s efforts to buy the building for $5,500,000.
The Grand Cinema, the only nonprofit independent movie theater in Pierce County, has been showing movies and acting as a valuable staple of downtown Tacoma for nearly 30 years. The Save The Grand campaign’s mission is simple: “To buy our building and secure our future.”. It is on its way to accomplishing its goal but still needs over $1,000,000 by June 2025.
Other tenants that share the building with The Grand Cinema have expressed support for their efforts to buy the Merlino Arts Center—the Tacoma City Ballet, Dukesbay Theater, and Corina Bakery, among others. If the Grand Cinema owns the building, it’s expected to provide a stable rent for those that call it home.
Cheryl Merlino, who has owned the building for roughly 40 years with her husband until his passing in 2016, gave The Grand an exclusive opportunity to purchase the building, subsequently avoiding a bidding war. Merlino and her husband have remained longtime supporters of Tacoma’s art and culture scene, leading Merlino to believe that, “the Grand is certainly the logical buyer for the building because they’ve been there and they know the character and some of the quirkiness,” according to the Tacoma News Tribune. “They’ve also been a large part of the success. I think at some point buildings need to take on their next chapter, and this would certainly give it that opportunity.”
The Grand Cinema owning the Merlino Arts Center building will provide additional revenue through rent as the new landlord. The estimated additional income would amount to about $200,000–$250,000 a year. The additional revenue would also be used to “strengthen existing community partnerships, including Tacoma Public Schools, Metro Parks, and other local arts organizations” according to The Grand Cinema’s website. “It will provide the flexibility and funding to meet new and diverse audiences where they are at and also create a gathering space for aspiring filmmakers.”
The Grand offers a place of belonging for many Tacoma locals. For House Manager and Bartender Maggie Dahl, it is a familiar site that, “is and has been for years one of my favorite places in Tacoma. Long before I started working here my husband and I were members. I appreciate the family feeling of coming in… [being] a part of the art community in the city.”
Through a partnership with Tacoma Creates, students attending colleges in the Tacoma area are able to see most movies for free with a valid student ID. PLU student organizations, like Rose Windows Studios, also premiere their works at the Grand.
PLU 2011 alumnus and The Grand Cinema Board President Kari Plog stated on The Grand website, “the Grand is so much more than an arthouse theater… a gathering place, a place to expand your mind, to experience art in community. If you want to learn something, or feel something, there is no better place than The Grand. This major gift is a huge step closer to preserving and expanding that transformative experience.”
To donate to the Save The Grand campaign visit grandcinema.com
