by jon bosworth jaxvillain@yahoo.com
Once upon a time 5 Points was considered the victim of urban blight and decay. There were empty storefronts, shady bars, creepy restaurants and plenty of loitering ne’r-do-wells. But then, in the late seventies, some of the more artsy stores decided to join Edge City along the strip of Park Street. The rent was fairly cheap and a rare breed of subculture was forming all over Riverside. Artsy folk, homosexuals, and punk rockers started to mark Riverside as their own and a new age dawned in 5 Points. Before long there was the Fusion Café, Now Hear This Records, the Theory Shoppe and Big Shiny Shoes ushering in a whole new vibe on the old corner.
Club Five had long been a staple of the street, but now it was complemented by a whole bastion of daytime youth culture. Slowly the antique stores were going away and clothing shops like Hypnotique and Wolfgang were taking hold. It was the dawn of the punk and there was pink hair and Doc Martins everywhere. The youth culture thought they had taken this spot and it would remain theirs forever.
But when the artsy community moves in and starts buying and fashionably restoring homes, creating a vital and exciting community, the people with money suddenly become interested. It wasn’t long before the artsy types couldn’t afford to even rent a place in the burgeoning neighborhood.
Then Club Five closed.
No more Saturday Night Seduction with scantily clad chicks dancing in cages and drunk gothic girls romping around the neighborhood at night. All the record stores left. Theory Shoppe faded into Einstein’s Kitsch Inn which faded out. Some new stores are trying their hand, but for the most part the old neighborhood is gone and there is some new hybrid of money and fashion that is taking its place. Edge City is still there and some remnants of youth culture, such as Nicotine and Caribbean Connection, still stick to 5 Points’ ribs, but more and more artsy kids are finding that they can’t afford to shop there.
So what is next in the evolution of this enigmatic neighborhood? Even the high-end interior design stores are finding it too difficult to afford the elevated lease and Fuel only opens on occasion. Starlite and Wall Street are trying to reclaim the nights that the strip once enjoyed, but their success has been meager. Everything seems to hinge on that enormous theatre in the middle of the strip.
So what has happened to the old Club Five? It has found Jesus.
Pastor Josh Franklin has recently started the 5 Points Church inside of the once dark and debaucherous night club, casting out its demons in favor of Christian rock concerts and a more youth-oriented church environment. This past weekend they hosted a concert called Rock for the Rescue, which featured local bands live on stage from 4 pm until late into the night. Most of the bands on the bill were acts that regularly appear on the stage at another Riverside area theatre, the Murray Hill Theatre.
Bands such as Matlock, Don’t Sigh Daisy, Among Your Brothers, JoEverett and the Metanoia Project joined headliners The Sophomore Attempt and Shangrala at the newly remodeled digs and rocked to raise money for City Rescue Mission, a faith-based organization that has been helping the homeless and needy since 1946.
The 5 Points Church will be convening at the 5 Points Theatre every Sunday evening at 7 pm to hold worship services that are intended for this young and energetic crowd, which digs on their haircuts and tattoos as much as anyone that frequents TSI, but are more prone to be wearing slogan tees that talk about Jesus. It was evident that the Rock for the Rescue event was the first they have put on, since the sound system was terribly ill-equipped for the room, but the gesture is a nice one and we will most likely see more.
The 5 points theatre hasn’t sold its soul totally to Jesus, it is available for rental to any organization or event. Not long ago Chancy Productions staged the Rocky Horror Show there, so you can expect to see an eclectic collection of activities happening there. For more information about the church email them at 5pointschurch@gmail.com. To learn more about City Rescue Mission, visit crmjax.org. To inquire about renting the 5 Points Theatre for your next event, contact Susan Adams at gm@5pointstheatre.com.
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