|
 Merced Theater - Merced, CA Posted by:  Big B Bob
N 37° 18.032 W 120° 28.826
10S E 723315 N 4131188
Quick Description: A classic old theater being brought back to it's original grandeur by the local community.
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 5/4/2008 6:53:40 PM
Waymark Code: WM3QDT
Views: 139
Long Description:
Merced Theater
Merced Theater, 1934
From the Merced Theater Foundation website:
The Merced Theater opened on
October 31st , 1931 with the world premier of
Local Boy Makes
Goodstaring Joe E. Brown.
The building was constructed over the previous nine months at a
cost of $380,000.00. For the next 47 years it would serve the
Merced community in a wide variety of ways including concerts,
graduations, dance performances, weddings and of course,
movies. It was and still is treasured by the people of Merced
County. The Tower is the most recognized landmark in
Merced.
The Theater was
designed by the Reid Brothers , prestigious architects
from San Francisco for the Golden State Theater
Corporation, and boasted 1,645 seats with the first air
conditioning for any building in the County. The City of Merced
had a population of only 7,066 at the time. We believe the
Theater is the last project completed by the Reid Brothers
as one of them died 3 months after the opening. The Theater
building includes five retail spaces and ten second floor
apartments on the Main Street frontage.
What made
the Theater so special was the Theater's interior. Sitting in
the Theater was a like being in a Spanish castle courtyard with
blue skies and even a cloud machine. I heard from a
projectionist, that the cloud and star projector was stolen many
years before I arrived. It had been attached to the foot of
the balcony and someone during a show had detached it and walk out
of the building with it.
In 1978, I
work as an usher at this Theater. At that time, it was owned
and operated by United Artists. The company had decided to
change the way they did business in Merced, so, they first offered
the theater to the city, but the city was, at that time, not
interested in purchasing the theater.
The local art
community tried gallantly but failed to save it. That
fall,
the Theater's interiors were demolished and removed. A central full
height partition was constructed and a four screen multiplex was
created. The multiplex configuration remains to this
day.
The tragedy is that the new configuration was never financially
successful and ultimately could not compete with the newer movie
theaters as a movie only operation. The building slowly fell
further into disrepair and the doors were finally closed in
2002.
These are photos I took a week before the
demolition. My friend, Anders and I climbed up into the
rafters to record what would no longer exist in a few days. I
remember coming in as the work was being done, they literally
tore out the beautiful history of this once majestic theater.
The intent of the Merced Theater Foundation to restore the interior
to match the original scheme to the degree possible while
updating theatrical, lighting and sound systems to a
state-of-the-art standard.
In 2002 the
City of Merced Redevelopment Agency purchased the Theater Building.
Since that time the Merced Theater Foundation has leased the
Theater from the City and is responsible for day to day operations.
Theater Two remains operational with 300 seats and a
small stage where movies are shown monthly and other events
are held by arrangement. One day soon,
the Merced Theater will return to it's majestic look and serve the
community as it was meant to be.
.
Number of Screen(s): 1
Concessions Available: yes
Web site: [Web Link]
Ticket Price (local currency): Not Listed
Matinee Price (local currency): Not Listed
|
Visit Instructions:
Must take a photo of the theater. Please try to include yourself or
gps in the picture. Tell of your experience at the theater, if it
is still a theater. If it is no longer a theater tell of an
experience from the past at the theater, if this can be done.
|
