Crown Uptown Theatre for sale again and owner knows just the kind of person to buy it

The Crown Uptown Theatre is for sale again, and owner J Basham thinks he knows just who should buy it.

“You’ve really got to like the business,” he said of a potential buyer. “You’ve really got to like the public. You’ve got to have a little bit of creativity in your bones, but it’s a blast.”

The 1927 building, which opened as a movie theater in 1928, is listed for $1.2 million.

Basham wants to sell “because I’m old, and I want to retire. I’ve been doing this kind of job for a long time.”

Though he’s owned the theater only about three years, he was managing it before that for previous owner Mike Garvey.

Basham said that during Garvey’s ownership, the business began growing, and the number of events was doubling every year. Then he had a chance to buy it, which he’d tried to do once before.

“Then six months later, COVID crept in, and we had to cancel everything that was on the books, so I didn’t pick a really good time to buy a theater.”

A lot of shows that were canceled have been rescheduled.

Basham said there are a lot of built-in users who come with the building, such as the Crown Arts Collaborative, a nonprofit that leases the space to produce shows.

Wichita Children’s Theatre & Dance Center also is located there.

“The Wichita Jazz Festival has made us their home,” he said. “So we have some regulars that are there.”

There’s also what Basham called a pricey new marquee on the building, “but I felt like it was worth it.”

“I felt like it needed it, and it certainly has lit up . . . Douglas and Hillside.”

A recently refurbished vertical Uptown sign already has two lights out — one letter that’s dark due to an issue during its transportation back to the theater and another that has a pinhole crack that let all its gas escape — but Basham said they’re being repaired.

A fire that started after lightning struck the building last year resulted in a new air conditioning system.

“Thank God, because that was an old system, and it needed to be replaced anyway,” Basham said.

The building is not currently on any historic registers.

“Somebody could actually buy it and tear it down, and I’m starting to check into how we can get it on the registry,” Basham said. “I don’t know if that would help me or hurt me.”

He’s also concerned that if the building is placed on a historic register, no one will be able to make drastic changes to the interior or exterior.

The main part of the interior he does not care for is the bar.

“It doesn’t go with the architecture of the building, and it’s not a very easy bar to work. It’s too big.”

Patrick Hale and Johnathan Weigand of J.P. Weigand and Sons are handling the sale of the property.

“My goal was to get the place busy again, and we’ve done that,” Basham said, “so I think it’s an excellent opportunity for someone to come in and continue on with it.”

This story was originally published July 25, 2022 at 10:47 AM.