Weingarten Realty, Inc., as part of a plan to accomodate future tenant Barnes & Nobles, plans to demolish Houston's historic River Oaks Movie Theatre, one of the very few remnants of New Deal era architecture still standing in Houston.
		The Difference Between Exercising Rights and Doing Right
			As many of you know, the River Oaks Shopping Center, including the venerable River Oaks Movie Theatre, is to be demolished by Weingarten Realty, to be replaced by some new disposable, forgetable, structure typical of Weingarten. The City of Houston stands alone among the major cities of the industrialized world in its unwillingness to save a single structure for posterity. It has never stopped the demolition of any historical structure, and the city council has made clear that it is not about to start. All they have done, which is all they have ever done, is force a delay of 90 days in the hope the owners will reconsider. They never do, and neither will Weingarten. Their motive for profit will not change after 90 days. We realize that people are busy, and it is difficult for many of us to devote time to another cause. Nonetheless, after the destruction of so much of what Houston has so little, this one is worth a try to save. Not just for the River Oaks cinema, but for the sake of setting a precedent, showing Weingarten and our hapless civic leaders that there is a difference between exercising your rights, and doing the right thing. To instruct them that ownership, in the context of any civilized community, is more than just exercising the rights given to you by the state over a property: It's about stewardship. Whether it is maintaining our homes and gardens so that our neighbors and ourselves may live in a better neighborhood, or preserving the patrimony of our city, we all have a moral obligation to consider the consequences of what we do with our land and buildings - consequences that inevitably affect everyone in the city, either enriching or impoverishing our lives.
			No More Petitions That Fall on Deaf Ears
			Weingarten will not be moved by any pleas to its better self, or any fear of bad publicity among the public that is not its direct customer. But, from past experience I know they can be moved to change course. You see, Weingarten, composed of an army of corporate Stepford wives, is a large, dull, moving object with a great deal of inertia that understands, and responds to, only one thing: profit. So here's how to get them to stop: Target their future tenants. It has worked before, and it takes little of your time. If enough Houstonians (you) want to stop the destruction of the River Oaks Cinema (of the appropriately named Landmark theatres), and are willing to stop by to sign a declaration in writing, the theatre can be saved.
			The River Oaks Declaration
			This is not a petition directed at Weingarten. It is a declaration of our intent directed at the future tenants of the renovated shopping center. You can guess what it says. With enough signatures we can deliver it to the local media for publication to help clarify the consequences to those who might lease from the new complex. There are a lot other shopping centers they can lease from. We will announce the publishing - on this website (until a new website is set up specifically for this effort)- of a list of all the business that will agree to decline leasing at the new location if the theatre is destoyed (if they wish to be listed), as well as noting those that don't give a damn (whether they wish it or not). Weingarten has every legal right to exercise its rights to the fullest - AND SO DO WE. No new laws needed, no more symbolic but useless actions by our presumably well-intentioned politicians; just a determination to carry out a simple action of "financial clarification," and an unambigous communication of OUR will. If you are interested in stopping the destruction of the River Oaks Cinema (of the appropriately named Landmark theatres), and are willing to stop by to sign The Declaration, please stop by a the designatedTimes and Locations noted. We are working to add an online signature form, but real signatures do carry more weight. To help with this in a greater capacity, please let know us by calling 281-236-3308, or simply when you stop by to sign the petition.