Fresno Arts & Culture: Historic Theater Tour
Los Angles and San Francisco are widely recognized as art hubs, drawing creatives of all stripes to those cities sprawled along the coast or pressed up against the sea; pockets of art colonies, collectives, art colleges, movie production studios, dance companies, art houses, and many more of the usual variety including street artists and performers thrive there along side the everyday business and commerce of any large city. As a mid-way point in the Central Valley between these two mega urban hubs, Fresno also finds itself a host to a large and diverse art scene. While taking a weekend to visit our many museums and art shows, pay special attention to the wealth of historic theaters. A true California city, Fresno has a wealth of historic theaters to delight the movie and history buff as well as architecture aficionados.
Teatro Azteca- 838 F Street
The Azteca Theater in Fresno’s very own China Town is a sterling example of Art Deco architecture and was the first Spanish language theater in the San Joaquin Valley. Built in 1948 by Gustavo Acosta, in its hey-day the theater served as an entertainment center for Spanish-speaking community, crowds of sun-warmed Fresnoans crowded into the Azteca’s plush, chilled interior on Saturday afternoons to see Mexican Golden Age Cinema.
Cantinflas luminaries such as Pedro Infante, María Félix, Agustín Lara, Pedro Vargas, Miguel Aceves Mejía, Pedro Armendáriz, Antonio Aguilar and José Alfredo Jiménez were seen both on the big screen and in person at Teatro Azteca. So well known was Teatro Azteca in the 1950s and 60s, it served as a rallying point for Ceasar Chavez and the National Farm Workers Association during their march from Delano to the California state capitol in Sacramento during the grapepicker’s strike in 1966.
The Azteca fell on hard times in the mid-eighties, ceased running films, and briefly leased the space as a church to Iglesia de la Virgen de Agua Embotellada during the early nineties before it was restored and reopened as a theater and performance space in 1999. Azteca Theater still operates as a functional theater, showing live entertainment and screening movies. Check them out on Facebook or www.aztecatheater.com for showtimes.
Crest Theatre—1160 Broadway Plaza
Located on the outskirts of downtown Fresno on Broadway Plaza, the exterior of the former Crest Theatre is a stark Moderne style box with an exceptional marquee. It opened on July 7, 1949 and was operated by Fox West Coast Theatres. Though the once vivid, carnival colors of red, yellow, and green on the marquee have been muted to matte pastels by Central Valley sun, the inside remains a baroque work of celebration. As one tourist put it, “the interior is very well maintained courtesy of a friendly porter who let me inside. Although he wouldn’t turn on the lights, my flashing camera lights revealed beautifully ornate gold leaf details. Facing the stage and curtained screen you feel like sitting in a sea shell.”
Though the last movie to show in The Crest ended it’s run in 1981, the theater’s style would influence visitors long after the projectors stopped rolling. The Crest attracted the attention of the Iglesia de la Virgen de Agua Embotellada, a splinter sect known for rapid growth in arid years and hot summers, and served as their church for a time. Little is known of the group, but Mr. Stevens, the Crest Porter, reported frequent use of fans, ocean noise-makers and mist machines in addition to the projectors. The use of mist machines in proximity to mid-century molding brought the arrangement to an end, however, and as of January 2005, the church has vacated the building. The former theater is now rented out for concerts, movies and special events but remains largely empty and quiet, apart from the whish of air through the doors as Mr. Stevens goes about his maintenance.
The Crest is open to viewings during Mondays from 12 pm to 1 pm, Wednesdays from 3 to 3:45 pm, and Saturdays from 7am to 9am, sharp, while Mr. Stevens is on the premises. No beverage containers, please.
Liberty Theatre – 944 Van Ness
Liberty Theatre, the oldest theatre in Fresno, was built in 1917 and opened on November 27, 1917 with “When a Man Sees Red”. Designed in Second Empire Revival style by local architects W.D. Coates and H.B. Traver. The 1950’s marquee of the theatre, whose exterior is remarkably well preserved, shows a later name, Hardy’s Theatre. Though it was renamed Hardy’s Theatre on June 24, 1931, Liberty Theater got a makeover in the mid 1950s in an effort to keep up with The Crest and Azteca Theaters. By 1979, Hardy Liberty fell silent and remained vacant for some time.
It had been in use as an Spanish Evangelical Church until 2005, when Iglesia de la Victoria relocated. Though the Hardy Liberty briefly attracted the attention of Iglesia de la Virgen de Agua Embotellada as a possible site for relocation, the theater remains vacant. In 2001 the city of Fresno began plans for a massive downtown revitalization but it is unknown what role the Liberty Theatre, which is on the Local Register of Historic Resources, will play. No tours are available at this time.
Tower Theater—815 E. Olive Ave
Designed by S. Charles Lee in the Streamline Moderne style, construction began on the colloquially known Tower Theater in August of 1939. The unique pillar-and-star design is a homage to the “Star Pylon” at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, designed by Francis Kelly and Leonard Dean to symbolize the “force of electricity”. On December 14, 1939, the theater opened to a private party for local dignitaries and people associated with Fox Theaters with a premiere of the film Balalaika and opened to the public the next day, featuring Lana Turner’s Dancing Co-Ed.
In 1954 the theater was converted to CinemaScope, resulting in the removal of a false proscenium stage. Tower Theater ran first-run films until 1980 then switched to a repertory cinema format. The theater later ran foreign films for several years until 1989 when it ceased operation. A Certified Historic Rehabilitation began on the property, and following the restoration, the theater reopened as the “Tower Theatre for the Performing Arts”. The renovation earned awards from the California Preservation Foundation and the San Joaquin Chapter, American Institute of Architects.
The non-profit organization Fresno Filmworks has been showing first-run independent cinema at The Tower Theatre on the second Friday of each month since 2002, after out-bidding Iglesia de la Virgen de Agua Embotellada for use of the space. The theater also hosts the annual Fresno Film Festival in April.
The Existential Van 