Local
Granada Theater's Future in Limbo as Residents Mobilize Against Bathhouse Conversion
A grassroots group of over 600 residents is fighting to preserve the Granada Theater as a live music venue after its owners announced the 80-year-old art deco landmark will close in April. The building lacks historic protections, and a New York-based wellness company plans to convert it into a bathhouse.
DALLAS â A growing coalition of residents is pushing to keep the Granada Theater operating as a live music venue, rallying against a planned conversion of the 80-year-old art deco landmark into a wellness space. The effort comes after the theater's owners announced last month that the Lower Greenville institution would cease hosting shows and events after April 17.
Owners Mike Schoder and Julia Garton cited sweeping changes in the live music industry for their decision, pointing to rising costs, shifting audience habits, and corporate consolidation as factors that have made independent venues increasingly untenable. The adjacent restaurant, Sundown at the Granada, closed in early October.
Within two days of the closure announcement, residents launched the "Save the Granada Theater" Facebook group, which has since attracted more than 600 members. Their urgency is heightened by the fact that the Granada does not have landmark protections, according to Sarah Crain, executive director of Preservation Dallas.
"There's a lot of buildings throughout Dallas that people just assume will be there forever, assume that because it's been there and an icon of Dallas it's got protections, no one's going to tear it down," Crain said. "And that's never been the story of Dallas."
New York-based Bathhouse plans to purchase the property and convert it into a wellness space featuring saunas, steam rooms, and pools. The company has previously indicated that the theater's marquee and facade would be preserved, but that the Sundown at Granada building would be demolished, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Dallas arts leader Kristin Colaneri said she appreciates Bathhouse's vision for bringing a new wellness experience to the city, but stressed that the Granada is more than a beautiful building â it's a living cultural institution. She said the solution can be collaborative, preserving the Granada as a functioning theater while allowing Bathhouse to thrive.
"This isn't about opposing progress. It's about finding a more imaginative, inclusive, and economically sustainable path forward," Colaneri said. She added that the group is exploring potential investment, acquisition, or partnership opportunities.
Bathhouse did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The grassroots effort echoes a similar preservation fight in South Dallas, where the Forest Theater was transformed into a mixed-use space through a local nonprofit effort that maintained the neighborhood's history. That theater reopened on Nov. 1.
For now, the Save the Granada group is working to build support and explore options before the theater's scheduled closure in April, hoping to ensure that one of Dallas's most recognizable cultural venues remains a stage for live music rather than a relic of the city's past.