What You're Saying About a Movie Theatre in Eldersburg

A recent article exploring the vacant movie theatre behind the Carrolltown Mall in Eldersburg met with a variety of responses from readers.

In our poll on the issue, as of Oct. 19, 173 people voted with 91 percent saying that Eldersburg needs a local movie theatre and 8 percent saying it's not necessary for the area.

Here's a sampling of what people said on Facebook and in the comments section. You're welcome to add your own thoughts below.

Brad Smith:

"They want to demolish the Carrolltown Cinemas when the economy picks up and then put some 20 theatre superplex in, which is a terrible idea. A nice 6 or 7 theatre cinema would be a nice balance between movies offered and keeping traffic from getting out of hand."

Joanne:

"I definitely don't think our area could support a large 'superplex', but do think the town would be able to keep a smaller 6 or 7 theater complex in business. I used to feel comfortable dropping my young teen off for a movie knowing that I was just a couple of miles away. It was convenient that I could go home and come back when the movie was over. Now we have to drive 20 minutes to Westminster or Columbia and find something to do during the movie. Taking my teen to a movie now ends up costing me a lot more than the price of movie and snacks because I end up spending money at Columbia or Westminster malls while killing the time. Guess I could practice some self control, but the bottom line is that I think we could use a smaller scale theater back in town."

Michele Field:

"I have also been in contact with Black Oak Property about turning the facility into a community service venue, having a movie & live performance theatre, counseling resources (including family, marriage, & debt resources), and a coffee house that sponsors bands, karaoke, groups studies, and a book store. I have a lot of support for it as well and a FB group with over 130 fans. However, getting a response from Black Oak is a different story. I'd appreciate any suggestions or ideas how how to make this project a reality."

Christy Dearden:

"I agree with Joanne that a smaller theater would be better. I think it was a leak in the roof that closed the theater when the owners didn't want to pay the money to fix it. I think that the theater started to go down when as a part of the economy, but the other part was when they stopped posting what was playing."

Alyssa Sims:

"We do need a theater whether a small one or a community setting mentioned above with live music or counseling options. Our community continues To grow and more places for teens to "hang out" are in demand. It's ideal the theater isn't attached to a mall so there is less unsupervised loitering."

Danny Chung:

"As a resident of Eldersburg, I believe the bigger issue is what happens if we don't get someone or business to invest and reopen this theater? The KMart 'shopping center' is already an eye sore and a poorly planned one at best that will likely red an entire overhaul in the near future. This spot should've been the location for the new strip mall down the road near the storage facility on 26. It's a town CENTER that needs our attention, NOW! Eldersburg has been rated 57th and 62nd in recent 'Best places to live' according to Money magazine, which is nothing to sneeze at. But if our leadership fails to entice investors or local businesses to come together and rebuild, our town center will be an eye-sore for some time to come. But if we act now, we can increase county revenue, increase jobs, and increase our city beauty."

Alissa:

"Eldersburg already has several counseling venues. It would be great if we could get a mid-sized movie theatre, as well as a total renovation to Carrolltowne 'Mall.' A Target there would be excellent."

JoeEldersburg:

"Demolishing buildings costs money and times are tight. Eventually all the buildings will be torn down to make way for a whole new Town Center type project. It's all dependent on when Kmart ultimately gives up on their store, which has the worst sales of any Sears/Kmart on the east coast. They likely have a dirt-cheap anchor lease that goes on forever and are probably asking a fortune for a lease buyout, so things will remain at an impasse on any plan to move forward, while their sales continue to slide."

Angela Lee:

"Other than closing down many of the businesses previously located in the interior of Carrolltown mall I never did see anything happening there of a positive nature and many years have now gone by since all those newspaper articles/interviews hyping what was to be the new and improved mall."