The Uptown Theatre is an entertainment venue located in

Napa, California Napa is the largest city and county seat of Napa County and a principal city of Wine Country in Northern California. Located in the North Bay region of the Bay Area, the city had a population of 77,480 as of the end of 2021. Napa is a major t ...

, United States. The theater is in an

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style building that originally opened to the public in 1937. it is utilized as a concert and entertainment venue with a seating capacity of 863.

History

The theater was originally constructed as a movie and live entertainment venue. Built by owner at the time, Lawrence Borg, The Uptown made its public debut on August 12, 1937, showing the film Ever Since Eve. Borg sold the Uptown Theater as well as the Fox Theater which was also located in downtown Napa to the Blumfield theater chain in 1945. Blumfield upgraded the Uptown's projection system to a Cinemascope system in 1954. The theater's existing 23 foot screen was replaced with a 40 foot screen to accommodate the Cinemascope specifications. The theater was first divided in half in 1973 to create a two screen venue and again divided in the late 1986 in order to accommodate four screens showing second run movies. Ownership and management of the theater changed hands several times in the 1990s and closed in 2000 due to falling attendance and competition from other newer facilities. After purchasing the Uptown Theatre in 2000, real estate developer George Altamura announced in 2003 that he had partnered with several investors including Francis Ford Coppola in a project to restore the building as a live entertainment venue. Restoration of the theater's exterior was completed in 2005. As restoration of the interior took place, several coats of paint were removed from the ceiling revealing an original Greco-Roman mural. Artists were brought in to restore the artwork to original form and completed in 2009.

Meyer Sound Laboratories Meyer Sound Laboratories is an American company based in Berkeley, California that manufactures self-powered loudspeakers, multichannel audio show control systems, electroacoustic architecture, and audio analysis tools for the professional sound ...

played a key role in the design of the venue's sound system. The theater reopened on May 14, 2010, with a performance by

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is a contemporary swing revival band from Southern California. Their notable singles include "Go Daddy-O", "You & Me & the Bottle Makes 3 Tonight (Baby)", and "Mr. Pinstripe Suit". The band played at the Super Bowl XXXIII ha ...

. Since reopening, the theater has hosted several hundred performers including

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...

, Boz Scaggs, Leon Russell,

Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and Vivian Liberto Cash Distin, Johnny Cash's first wife. Although she is often classified as a country art ...

, George Thorogood,

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled a ...

John Prine John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death. He ...

, Emmylou Harris,

Jerry Jeff Walker Jerry Jeff Walker (born Ronald Clyde Crosby; March 16, 1942 – October 23, 2020) was an American country music and folk singer-songwriter. He was a leading figure in the progressive country and outlaw country music movement. He was bes ...

Lily Tomlin Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. She started her career as a stand-up comedian as well as performing off-Broadway during the 1960s. Her breakout role was on the varie ...

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...

John Hiatt John Robert Hiatt (born August 20, 1952) is an American singer-songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including new wave, blues, and country. Hiatt has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards and has been awarded ...

Los Lonely Boys Los Lonely Boys are an American musical group from San Angelo, Texas. They play a style of music they call "Texican Rock n' Roll," combining elements of rock and roll, Texas blues, brown-eyed soul, country, and Tejano. The band consists of th ...

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

, Lyle Lovett and

Robert Cray Robert William Cray (born August 1, 1953) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He has led his own band and won five Grammy Awards. Early life Robert Cray was born on August 1, 1953, in Columbus, Georgia, while his father was statione ...

. The theater's ceiling was damaged during the

2014 South Napa earthquake The 2014 South Napa earthquake occurred in the North San Francisco Bay Area on August 24 at . At 6.0 on the moment magnitude scale and with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (''Severe''), the event was the largest in the San Francisco Bay Ar ...

. Although the structure of the building was determined to be sound, the building was red tagged until repairs were completed. The first post-earthquake event was a concert featuring

Ziggy Marley David Nesta "Ziggy" Marley (born 17 October 1968) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, musician, actor and philanthropist. He is the son of reggae icon Bob Marley and Rita Marley. He led the family band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers until 20 ...

which took place on November 9, 2014. The venue was purchased in 2022 by John Anthony Truchard and is featuring the JaM Cellars Presents music series.

References

{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Napa County, California History of Napa County, California Music venues in California Theatres in the San Francisco Bay Area Tourist attractions in Napa County, California Theatres completed in 1937 1937 establishments in California