Why You Should See Wonder Bread 5 on Aug. 21 in Novato

With local eyes turned toward hot-button issues like affordable housing and SMART, lost in the shuffle is Novato’s continuing evolution (or de-evolution) from suburban bedroom community to fully-functioning city.

The town’s ride on the New Urbanism train hasn’t been as rollicking as that of Marin neighbors with greater downtown infrastructure already in place, but many of the changes that have come to Novato in the past 20 years have been designed to push it in that direction or, perhaps more accurately, in the direction of restoring its “small-town atmosphere.”

This isn’t just sepia-toned nostalgia. “Walkability” is hot, a measurable benchmark by which to determine a town’s “pedestrian-friendly” amenities. Downtown Novato, maybe as the result of the many sections of its Downtown Precise Plan devoted to improving streetscapes and pedestrian passageways, has a WalkScore of 86 (very walkable).

Not every element of what urban planners like to call “livability” is as measurable. There are intangibles, buildings, institutions and ideas that promote cohesion within a community. They are schools, longtime businesses, annual events … anything that brings residents together and/or creates feelings of familiarity and pride among the locals.

This is where the restoration effort comes in.

There was a time when every town had its own downtown theater. There was also a time, more recently, when almost all of these theaters lost battles with multiplexes built in or near shopping malls. Some of them fought back by converting their one screen into multiple, tiny screens. Some closed. Some were razed while others suffered an almost-worse fate, like the Broadway Theater in my old Seattle neighborhood, whose marquee now advertises specials at the Rite Aid that replaced it.

Some theaters are saved, like the Lark in downtown Larkspur. In 2007, a group of 800 individuals donated enough money to buy the Lark, assuring its future. Four years later, the art deco theater is a cultural center, hosting movies and special events and acting as a shining source of pride for Larkspur residents, who can point to 2007 as an important moment in the restoration of their small town.

One of the major players in the Lark restoration and purchase, , is now the executive director of the efforts to purchase and restore the Novato Theater, located at 924 Grant Ave. in Old Town and shuttered since 1991. Baeza’s group has until Sept. 1 to raise $750,000 so the city will allow it to buy the theater for $50,000. On June 15, the group said had raised $303,000, including a pledge of $150,000 by Marin County Supervisor Judy Arnold. Now the total is up to $407,000, according to commitee member Susan Bell-Warner.

Up next is an Aug. 21 fundraiser, the Novato Theater “Rock & Pledge,” featuring local musician Amy Wigton and local band The Wonder Bread 5. The event begins at 4 p.m. at the Novato City Green next to . A percentage of all food and beverage sales will go to the cause, as will whatever volunteers can solicit from the crowd.

Here’s why you should show up on Aug. 21: Your property value could go up if this theater gets opened.

I could refer to a few academic studies about the effects of cultural amenities on property values. They are “significant,” according to economist Stephen Sheppard of Williams College in Massachusetts. Everyone likes to see their property values rise. What’s more important, though, is the long-term impact of a town getting behind a project that will improve its overall quality of life, will show its understanding of the role of history and heritage in its collective identity and will give citizens something they can point to and say, “We did that.”

That, plus the unbeatable buzz present on a Saturday night, when the movie ends and everyone spills out onto the sidewalk, is why you should get behind the efforts to restore the Novato Theater.

For details, check out www.novatotheater.net or look for the Facebook page.

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