THUMB AWARD They’d Rather Go Shopping

Thumbs down to the citizens of Highland Park and Highland Park Town Council for their unanimous approval of Henry S. Miller Company’s plans to reconstruct Highland Park Village Theatre. The scheme calls for demolishing the downstairs theater and building boutiques in its place, and renovating the upstairs theater to accommodate three smaller screens. Just what this city needs-more expensive dress shops and more tiny-plex theaters. The plans are another illustration of the relentless high-ending of Dallas. Prior to a June 2 town council meeting, theater patrons and Highland Park citizens had grumbled about the changes in store for the Highland Park landmark, which is not only historic in Dallas architecture-the Spanish colonial-style building was constructed in 1933 as a focal point of the shopping center-but also historic in the realm of film: the theater has shown The Rocky Horror Picture Show every Friday and Saturday at midnight since April 29, 1977, a world’s record. But at that well-attended town council meeting (Henry S. Miller Jr. sat among the townsfolk), not a single gripe was heard. “Isn’t that a rip?” asks theater manager Wayne Hix. “All of these people were saying, ’we aren’t going to let them do this without a fight,’ but when they had the chance to say something, they didn’t. Maybe they were intimidated. Who knows?” The theater’s lease was up on July 1. Hix had hoped to finish out the summer with the theater intact, but was given a notice to vacate. Highland Park Village theater closed near midnight on July 8.