Dateline: October 23, 2008

CEDC purchases Mulkey

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

The Clarendon Economic Development Corporation closed a $20,000 deal last week to purchase the historic Mulkey Theatre.

CEDC President Stephen Hall signed papers last Tuesday, and City Attorney James Shelton confirmed this week that all the necessary paperwork has been filed to transfer ownership of the theatre.

“This project is in keeping with the goal of the CEDC to beautify downtown,” Hall said. “We hope to once again make it a jewel of Kearney Street.”

The CEDC Board has been working for several years to acquire the theatre and made its $20,000 offer in July after hiring an engineer to inspect the building. The engineer concluded that the Mulkey “is in reasonably good structural condition and appears (to be) a good candidate for refurbishment.”

CEDC Secretary Roger Estlack said a few things need to be addressed immediately concerning the building.

“The first priority is to get a new roof on the theatre and make sure the building is properly secured,” he said. “We’ve also got to look at some drainage issues in the alley, which are causing some settlement in the foundation back there.”

After those first issues are dealt with, the CEDC will turn its attention to the front of the building. Decisions about the interior of the building and possible uses for the theatre are far in the future at this point, Estlack said.

“We’ll be looking closely at what has been done with the Ritz in Wellington and the Morley in Borger as we move forward,” Estlack said. “This project is going to take a long time.”

In July, the CEDC set up a $100,000 community fund with the Amarillo Area Foundation for the purpose of acquiring and rehabilitating the Mulkey. Half the fund came from the CEDC’s half-cent sales tax revenue, and that money was matched dollar for dollar by the Foundation. The board also plans to pursue other grants and donations in the months to come.

The Mulkey Theatre was built in 1946 and operated as a motion picture theatre until the early 1980s.