Historic Port Theatre Sold at Auction - 2007-08-09

About 60 people listened to a fast-talking auctioneer sell the Port Theatre in Port St. Joe for half a million dollars on August 2.

It was the final curtain for the historic building until its next reincarnation. No one is saying exactly what production that might be.

Apalachicola business man Harry Arnold purchased the theater for $505,000 after a back-and-forth bidding spree against one other bidder.

Apalachicola realtor Shaun Donahoe acted as Arnold’s bidding agent, handling the actual transaction.

Bidding against Arnold and Donahoe was Port St. Joe realtor Ronald Pickett, reportedly representing Port St. Joe business man David Warriner.

As theater owners Wade and Paula Clark watched and listened from the back row of theater seats, Donald E. Kirkland, auctioneer for Higgenbotham Auctioneers International, Limited, Inc., sold a mounted blue marlin and an 18-by-38 foot American flag, then launched into the history of the building and the terms of the absolute auction.

The structure has stood at 314 Reid Avenue in downtown Port St. Joe for 69 years, a literal shell of its former self for decades.

Although the theater fronts Reid Avenue, the manager’s apartment on the second floor of the building looks out over U.S. 98 and St. Joseph Bay.

The Clarks purchased the old building in 1995, holding auctions in the space for 11 years until they closed the doors in January of 2007 and moved to Tennessee.

Built of brick and steel in 1938, the Art Deco style theater was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in June 2003.

Established by Congress in 1966, the National Register of Historic Places falls under the U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service.

It is the nation’s official list of significant historic properties.

Kirkland tried to start the auction at $2 million, but immediately dropped his second asking price to $1 million. His third attempt to start the bidding was $300,000.

Pickett sat against the front wall talking constantly by cell phone to his buyer throughout the auction process.

Donahoe sat in the center of the seating section, near the back, just in front of Arnold, who only occasionally consulted with Donahoe.

Pickett and Donahoe bid back and forth for about 10 minutes, making mostly $5,000 increment raises in the offered price, occasionally jumping $10,000.

When the bidding had moved from $300,000 to $455,000, Kirkland broke his patter to tell a story, obviously designed to try to increase activity and bidding. It was not a particularly successful tactic.

When bidding between Pickett and Donahoe reached $485,000, Kirkland broke rhythm again for another anecdote.

When the bids reached $500,000 and $505,000, Kirkland repeatedly tried to raise the price. Finally, Pickett indicated he was unwilling to go farther, and Donahoe’s offer of $505,000 was declared the winning bid.

As spectators filed out, Paula Clark hugged well-wishers and thanked people for coming.
“It was time to let go,” she said. “We’re going to regret leaving [Port St. Joe], but we have such wonderful memories and have met such wonderful people here. It was just time to let go.”

Clark said she and Wade have moved to a small town in middle Tennessee, near the couple’s children.

“Wade is holding produce auctions three times a week for the Amish community in our area,” she said, adding that “we actually met just 10 minutes from where we’re living now.”

Clark added a special personal “thank you” to everyone in Port St. Joe, wishing all the best for the people who came to their auctions at the Port Theatre over the past 11 years.

“We have wonderful memories to take with us,” she said.

At the conclusion of the auction, neither Arnold nor Donahoe would answer any press inquiries as to what might be in store for the historic building.

Arnold had not returned calls to the newspaper by press time Tuesday.

According to information from several different state websites on historical listings, designation as a National Register property places no obligation or restrictions on a private property owner using private resources to maintain or alter a property.

It is an honorary designation that does not restrict private property rights. An individual is free to do as he pleases with his Register property.

The list is meant simply to recognize properties of historic importance and should not be confused with local historic designations, which can contain restrictive measures.

On certain occasions, a private owner of a National Register property is required to follow federal preservation standards if federal funding or licensing is involved, or if the owner seeks and receives special benefits from Register listing, such as federal tax credits.