Readers React to Theater, Garage Closures

On Sunday evening, Highland Park's City Council announced the .

Independent inspections by Fire Chief Pat Tanner revealed that both venues violate several fire safety codes. The inspections commenced Thursday and are still on-going, according to a statement from the city council.

While we broke the story less than 24 hours ago, readers have been quick to react and on Facebook.

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Many readers, like Michael Garcia, were especially shocked by the theater closure.

"Wow! We were just there yesterday enjoying the Avengers. Hopefully for the safety of their customers they can fix these issues and reopen soon. I enjoy the prices and small like venue this place offers," Garcia wrote.

The last developments regarding the theater's fate were discussed in September— and . A winning bid was to be announced Nov. 30, but never came. 

In light of the above other readers, like Lauren Zaremski asked for a more-detailed explanation from the city council. "Sad for the people who grew up with it... We deserve the REAL story..." Zaremski wrote.

echoed Zaremski's sentiments, while also raising questions about the city's responsibility in fixing the theater—". . .not sure of the issue with the theater but did we not due dilligence on this and why would public safety be an issue on a venue purchased by the city and run for the last couple of years? Just saying :) The public needs more information on these issues."

Other readers like Aaron Batix Margolin, said the theater wasn't serving the community and needs a revamp.

"The amount of people who live in Highland Park that would go see a movie at AMC in Northbrook as opposed to the HP movie theatre is pretty staggering. The theatre itself had no pull. Unlike The Renaissance who could afford not being flashy due to the nature of many of the films it showed, the HP theater showed movies that you can see anywhere else. They needed grab more attention or face consequences such as these." Margolin wrote.

What do you think? Read the and the story here, then leave your own below.

Editor's note: Have an opinion on City Council's actions or anything else government-themed? Patch is looking for Highland Park residents interested in blogging about city issues. If you're interested, please email jacob@patch.com or call 847-204-1636.nd

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