Owner of Catlow Theater in Barrington looking to sell historic venue
The owner of the historic Catlow Theater in Barrington is in talks with potential buyers and is looking to sell, according to an email to supporters Friday.
"I feel now I am at that age where it might be impossible for me to carry on with the plans that we had for operating the theater - it may be time to pass the baton on to someone younger with more energy, resources and ambitious goals toward keeping the Catlow as a vital entertainment venue for our community," Tim O'Connor wrote in an email Friday. "I can never thank you enough for all of your support over these last 41 years at Boloney's and the Catlow."
O'Connor has asked the community for financial help as recently as March.
He said he needed money for back taxes, licenses, utilities, fines and repairs to the 95-year-old building. He said the theater had "protected status" as a historic building for decades and so did not have to do building-code-mandated upgrades. That changed, he said.
O'Connor has been renting the theater's marquee for private messages, and Friday he urged people to continue doing that.
The theater has been closed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
But the Catlow was in financial trouble before that. In 2012, there was a fundraising effort that aimed to raise $100,000 for a digital movie projector. It received $175,395.
In 2017, O'Connor asked for money to pay for improving the neighboring sandwich shop he owns.