The historic Berry Theater’s fate is still in the air.
Mercy Clinic, a nonprofit that owns the property, is reconsidering its plans for how it wants to use the theater property, 3031 Hemphill St., following a community meeting on June 27.
Aly Layman, executive director of Mercy Clinic, told the Fort Worth Report her board of directors would re-examine plans for the new health center at its next meeting on July 15. The community’s response to the demolition permit sparked the change, she said.
David Watts, a member of Mercy Clinic’s board of directors, sees a possible compromise for his organization and the Hemphill community.
“If we could build our clinic next to the theater and if the money was right, we don’t have to knock it down,” Watts said. “We’re open to having both.”
Layman, who has been the executive director since February, wants to assure residents that Mercy Clinic wants to be a good neighbor.
“We can’t continue to grow the clinic if we break that trust,” Layman said.
Mercy Clinic first considered demolishing the Berry Theater because of finances, Layman said. A new 7-Eleven is under construction near the theater and is planned to open in late July. Once the store opens, the clinic would have to pay lost profit during each day of demolition, Layman said.
After the nearly two-hour-long conversation, the clinic agreed to have more community discussions about the theater.
Hemphill resident Cristina Plascencia Snoke did not think Mercy Clinic’s plans were enough.
Snoke suggested making the theater into a Mexican American history museum to honor its past and the surrounding community. The theater began screening Spanish-language movies in 1962, according to Cinema Treasures, which focuses on preserving the history of movie theaters across the U.S.
“If you erase our history, you make it easier to erase us, and a lot of us here have fears of displacement and gentrification,” Plascencia Snoke said.
Residents aren’t against Mercy Clinic, but officials need to look at alternatives to save the theater for future, Fort Worth resident Logan Baker said.
“I’m just keeping my fingers crossed and hoping they’ll be able to listen to the folks here and what it means to the area,” Baker said.
Jerry Tracy, the executive director at Historic Fort Worth, expressed the importance of saving the theater. The historic preservation nonprofit can’t do anything to preserve the theater unless the owner starts the process of designating it a local landmark, Tracy said.
The Berry Theater has been listed five times as one of the city’s most endangered places, according to Historic Fort Worth.
“I think you should expand, but honestly, there are better places for it because you kill someone else’s charitable mission,” Tracy said.
Fort Worth council member Jeanette Martinez, who presents the Hemphill area on the City Council, thought the conversation was positive and plans to find an alternative that works for both Mercy Clinic and the community. She plans to talk to city officials about what can be done to preserve the theater.
“I’m glad that the community spoke up,” Martinez said.
Juan Salinas II is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at juan.salinas@fortworthreport.org or on Twitter. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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