Main Street Video Co-Op, formerly known as Howard Hughes Videos, has been operating in Moscow for over 30 years.
The business had the third biggest collection of movies in the Northwest, ranging from cult classics and foreign films to new releases, said Executive Director of Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre Christine Gilmore. Due to the economic repercussions of COVID-19, Main Street Video Co-op is shutting down permanently.
“It’s really sad,” Gilmore said. “There are a lot of businesses struggling, unfortunately.”
Because of the business closing, Lauretta Campbell, a board member for the Main Street Video Co-Op, and the staff were concerned about what would happen to the store’s massive video collection. Before it became the co-op, it was Howard Hughes Videos. It provided the people of Moscow with movies and TV shows. Eventually, however, the original owners wanted to retire, which had people at the time concerned about the massive collection of movies and TV shows.
“There were many people in town who didn’t want to lose the collection,” Campbell said. “So, they came together as a cooperative to keep the collection going and to be able to buy it from the previous owners. It allowed it to continue on for another three years.”
This allowed for continuing access to the vast selection of movies and TV shows. Even as streaming services became more relevant, it still managed to hold its ground.
Because the store was now closed, the collection had to go somewhere. Another organization, the Kenworthy, has stepped in.
“They reached out and asked us if this is something we’d be interested in,” Gilmore said. “The Moscow Video Co-op felt that we had a good infrastructure, and it fell within our mission and aligns with some of the programs that we’re doing.”
The Kenworthy and Video Co-op have partnered on various events for a long time. The Video Co-op provided the Kenworthy with the classic cartoons for their Saturday Morning Cartoons events held during the Farmers Market, along with sponsoring their “Midnight Movie Film” series and more, said Gilmore.
“The collection really does matter,” Campbell said. “There have been generations of families who have come and gotten videos from there, and that’s a really cool thing.”
The Kenworthy’s plan for the video collection is to reach out to local nonprofits and organizations that could benefit from the movies, such as libraries. After that, they will keep a small collection of the movies, and then they will formulate a plan to safely sell the videos to the public.
“We understand that this vast collection is a beloved asset to our community, and we intend to make it as accessible as possible for people to acquire videos,” Gilmore said.
Ryan Hill can be reached at [email protected]
This article has been updated to properly identify Lauretta Campbell.