Community comes together to save now-closed Parma Theatre after 76 years in business

PARMA,Ohio - The Parma Theatre is now closed after 76 years on Ridge Road. Now, the fight starts to save it.

The old theater has been for sale for seven years and only a drug store has shown interest in buying it.

A group of concerned citizens came together Thursday night to discuss strategies on how to save the theater and form committees. Organizers said they want people to step up and get involved, knowing this will take a huge community effort.

"We’ve talked about some theatrical things, talked about some education things, we've talked about doing something with the arts. We've talked about a lot of different things and I think that's kind of what we need to do, bringing people together and figuring out what would be the best use or multi-use for the building," said Debbie Lime, an organizer and Parma councilwoman.

"Save it for future generations, for my grand kids, and instead of tearing everything down, let's do something with it," said independent filmmaker Rich Lasky.

The asking price is $795,000, plus it needs a new roof, parking lot and various interior repairs.

For more information go to their web site http://saveparmatheater.org/