The Tower Theatre for the Performing Arts is a historic

Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design ...

mixed-use theater in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

. Built in 1939, it opened to the public on December 15, 1939, under the management of Fox West Coast Theater Corporation. The building was designed by

S. Charles Lee S. Charles Lee (September 5, 1899 - January 27, 1990) was an American architect recognized as one of the most prolific and distinguished motion picture theater designers on the West Coast. Life Early life Simeon Charles Levi was born in Chicag ...

, with its tower inspired by the "Star Pylon" at the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchas ...

. The theater underwent a renovation and reopened as a performing arts center in 1990, after being closed as a

repertory cinema A revival house or repertory cinema is a cinema that specializes in showing classic or notable older films (as opposed to first run films). Such venues may include standard repertory cinemas, multi-function theatres that alternate between old movie ...

in 1989 due to financial troubles.

History

The theater is located in a part of Fresno that had been developing into a shopping area since about 1923. Discussions of building a theater in the neighborhood began as early as 1927. The first of three proposals for a theater was made on December 3, 1938, published in ''

The Fresno Bee ''The Fresno Bee'' is a daily newspaper serving Fresno, California, and surrounding counties in that U.S. state's central San Joaquin Valley. It is owned by The McClatchy Company and ranks fourth in circulation among the company's newspapers. I ...

''. Fox West Coast Theater Corporation, in cooperation with A. Emory Wishon, proposed a $200,000 theater similar to the S. Charles Lee-designed Ritz Theatre in

Westwood, Los Angeles Westwood is a commercial and residential neighborhood in the northern central portion of the Westside region of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Bordering the campus on the south ...

. The project would be built on the whole block at the northwest corner of Olive and Wishon Avenues. The property was owned by the Wishon Estate and was a playground at the time. A second proposal was made for a larger structure to be built, also on the Wishon property. It was designed in early 1939 by Thomas F. Chase, but was abandoned. A third plan, for a smaller $65,000 theater, was made about the week of April 16, 1939, for Redwood Theatres, Inc. William David was the architect for the proposed structure at North Van Ness and Olive, but the plans never materialized. Tower Theatre Fresno 7

Building permits were issued on May 11, 1939, by the city of Fresno for a Wishon/Fox theater. Codenamed "The Ritz", the design was significantly smaller than the original Wishon/Fox proposal. It was designed by S. Charles Lee and was estimated to cost $100,000. Construction began immediately following the issuing of permits under the direction of general contracting firm Trewhitt, Shields and Fisher. The original design for a finned tower was revised by Lee in August 1939. The new design resembled the "Star Pylon" at the

, designed by Francis Kelly and Leonard Dean to symbolize the "force of electricity". On December 14, 1939, the theater, formally dedicated as the "Tower Theatre", opened to a private party for local dignitaries and people associated with Fox Theaters with a premiere of the film ''

Balalaika The balalaika (russian: link=no, балала́йка, ) is a Russian stringed musical instrument with a characteristic triangular wooden, hollow body, fretted neck and three strings. Two strings are usually tuned to the same note and the thir ...

''. It opened to the public the next day, featuring the films ''

Dancing Co-Ed ''Dancing Co-Ed'' is a 1939 American romantic comedy film directed by S. Sylvan Simon and starring Lana Turner in the titular role, Richard Carlson as an inquisitive college reporter, and bandleader Artie Shaw as himself. Plot When a dancer's pa ...

'' and ''

Henry Goes Arizona ''Henry Goes Arizona'' is a 1939 American Western film starring Frank Morgan. Plot Henry "Hank" Conroy is as an actor, who inherits his dead brother's ranch. While adjusting to the country there, he is threatened by a gang who is after the ran ...

''. The theater was not certified as complete until January 29, 1940, but there was a push to occupy the building prior to Christmas 1939. Following A. Emory Wishon's death in 1948, the theater property was sold to a Fox Theaters subsidiary by his estate. The theater was converted to

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

in 1954, resulting in the removal of a false

proscenium A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...

stage. The theater stopped showing

first run films In cinematic parlance, a film in its first run has been recently released. In North America, new films attract the majority of their theatrical viewers in the first few weeks after their release. In North America, different movie theatres pay di ...

in 1980 and switched to a

format. The theater later ran foreign films for several years until 1989 when it ceased operation. The theater was deeply in debt and running films was no longer economically viable. A Certified Historic Rehabilitation began on the property, renovating the theater and retail wings. Following the restoration, the theater reopened as the "Tower Theatre for the Performing Arts". The renovation earned awards from the

California Preservation Foundation California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and the San Joaquin Chapter,

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

. 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. The theater also hosts the annual Fresno Film Festival.

Historic designations

The theater was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on September 24, 1992. It was nominated under Criterion C for its local architectural significance within three contexts. It was built at the close of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and during the peak popularity of the Streamline Moderne style. The theater was the only work completed by Lee in the city of Fresno, and is representative of his designs for suburban movie theaters. Lastly, it is one of only six extant vintage theaters in Fresno; the only one designed with an on-site parking lot and the only suburban facility. Its period of significance was given as 1939–1940, the construction and completion of the theater being the primary significant events in its history. No claim of significance under Criterion B was made, since its owners and developers were not singularly associated with the theater. The theater is also listed on Fresno's Local Register of Historic Resources as property 190.

Design and setting

The theater is located in a neighborhood eponymously named the "Tower District". It is located at the northwest corner of North Wishon and East Olive Avenues. The building occupies of ground in an arrowhead shape. The auditorium, which forms the shaft of the arrow, is situated at a 45° angle to the streets and the two wings of the building contain retail space. The theater and parking lot originally covered a full block. In 1964, a portion at the northeast corner was split off, leaving the theater property at . The separate parcel has been home to a service station and a restaurant. At the southwest corner is a non-contributing commercial building. The building features an concrete tower fitted with neon tube lighting and capped by a pronged orb with neon lights. A cantilevered marquee wraps around the entrance, appearing to be supported by a hexagonal box office. Tower Theatre was designed in the

style. It is the only architectural work to have been completed by Lee in Fresno. Dutch-born muralist

Anthony Heinsbergen Anthony Heinsbergen (December 13, 1894 – June 14, 1981) was an American muralist considered the foremost designer of North American movie theatre interiors. Born Antoon Heinsbergen in Haarlem (the Netherlands), he emigrated with his family t ...

created the "Leda and Swan" and "Vine" motifs for murals on the theater's ceiling and walls. The Tower Theatre was the second theater in the United States with fluorescent-painted murals illuminated by ultraviolet lights; the first experiments with such a setup were undertaken by Lee at his Academy Theatre in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

. The theater features a centrally located

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

etched-glass panel, a near-replica of

Gaetano Cecere Gaetano Cecere, (November 26, 1894 – 1985) is an American sculptor. He was born, educated and worked in New York City. He studied with Hermon A MacNeil, with work in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and Gaetano, known as "Guy," atten ...

's 1927 "The Huntsman".

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places Performing arts centers in California Buildings and structures in Fresno, California Theatres completed in 1939 National Register of Historic Places in Fresno County, California Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in California Event venues established in 1939 1939 establishments in California Tourist attractions in Fresno, California Music venues in Fresno, California Streamline Moderne architecture in California