‘We saved The Grand!’ Tacoma movie theater entity celebrates latest achievement
A local independent Tacoma movie theater institution now owns its home.
On Monday, Kaarin Austin, chair of the board of directors for The Grand Cinema, announced Grand Cinema Holdings’ acquisition of The Merlino Art Center, which encompasses 604 Fawcett to 508 Sixth Ave.
The site also is home to Tacoma City Ballet and Corina Bakery.
The announcement shared on The Grand’s website and on social media came with an accompanying “We Saved the Grand!” illustration. In the announcement, Austin said that the purchase “was made possible thanks to an outpouring of philanthropic support from our friends, members, and those who believe in a vibrant arts sector for Tacoma/Pierce County.”
Pierce County records show that the nonprofit Grand Cinema Holdings purchased the property from a Seattle LLC affiliated with Cheryl Merlino, who purchased the building with her late husband Paul more than 40 years ago.
As part of Monday’s announcement, Austin also wrote that Elizabeth Calhoun is now The Grand’s executive director. Calhoun’s background includes work with the Hollywood Theater in Portland, Seattle International Film Festival, the Gage Academy of Art and with commercial movie houses, such as Regal and Landmark, the announcement noted.
“Elizabeth was chosen by The Grand Board of Directors to succeed Philip Cowan, who is retiring after 18 years of service,” Austin wrote. “We are tremendously grateful for Philip’s service to the Grand, which includes guiding us through the dark days of COVID and successfully negotiating and executing on the sale agreement with the Merlino family.”
Cowan told The News Tribune via email on Monday in response to questions, “We signed a contract to purchase the building in 2020 and spent a couple of years kind of in the ‘silent phase’ of a campaign, as we researched fundraising strategies and started reaching out to foundations and possible larger donors.”
He added that the “public phase” of the campaign began in 2023.
Cowan also noted that “there are no plans to change” the building’s Merlino name “anytime soon, if ever.”
“For the most part, we want to keep things flowing as they always have,” he wrote. “The key for us is that we are now certain to be around for decades, if not generations to come.”
“We are blown away by the support from our community and appreciate making this purchase of the building possible,” he added.
