Scottsdale's Harkins Camelview 5, one of the longest-running movie theaters in Arizona, has been screening indie and art house flicks for a few decades now. And if a group of local historic preservationists, architecture aficionados, and longtime patrons have their way, it will keep doing so for years to come.
News broke earlier this month that the historic cinema, which first opened in 1973 and is situated next door to Scottsdale Fashion Square, might possibly be closed and demolished next year as a part of a proposed expansion of the upscale Camelback Road mall. It's a fate, however, that Valley architecture expert and author Walt Lockley and others are working to prevent.