Oroville's State Theater pushes forward with its beautiful revitalization

Oroville's historic state theater

94 Years Old—Still Alive! Still Vibrant! Still Active and Still Kicking!

As the theatre prepares for its 94th anniversary of continuous operation in April, donations large and small from our community helped meet the challenges of the COVID shutdown.

The theatre is owned and operated by the State Theatre Arts Guild (STAGE), a non-profit 501c3 organization. With no on-going public funding, the Historic State Theatre relies heavily on local funding for its day-to-day operations and maintenance. The community came through in 2021, setting a record for new and renewing memberships. STAGE membership renewal notices for 2022 are going out soon!

While the theatre has been “dark," renovations have still been going on inside. Along with funds from the State Water Contractors, the theatre mezzanine has been completely revamped. As with many projects in the near century-old building, the demolition uncovered significant dry rot on the south wall along with frames where windows were originally installed. As a nod to the history, the theatre had its window boxes framed out.

The mezzanine project allowed the theater to again commission Bay Area restoration artist Beate Bruhl. Beate will always have a special place in the theatre’s restoration history. She painstakingly uncovered and restored the magnificent mural in the theatre lobby a few summers ago. This time, Beate uncovered and restored the elaborate medallions around the mezzanine light fixtures. The medallion restoration also highlights the recently installed reproductions of the original theatre chandeliers. The chandeliers in the mezzanine and in the main lobby were provided through the generosity of local patrons and represent a total investment of $50,000. The mezzanine project also benefited from the efforts and talents of Ron Hawkins Construction, Charles S. Crabtree Painting, Carpets Galore in Oroville, and Quality Lighting.

In November, STAGE was blessed with a donation in memory of Nicholas Ellena. The $12,000 donation allowed STAGE to invest in a “new to us” speaker array for the auditorium. The new array will allow the theatre to attract more commercial programming as commercial operators were reluctant to use the theatre with the previously outdated sound system. Nicholas Ellena, known as Nick, was a long time Oroville-Mercury Register and Chico Enterprise Record reporter.

The theatre, which was called “The Jewel of the Downtown” when it opened in April, 1928, will celebrate its 94th anniversary April 9th and 10th. There will be performances on the magnificently restored Wurlitzer Theatre organ by renowned artist Walt Strony. Strony performed to near sell-out crowds at the State Theatre on July 3. Mr. Strony’s concert in April will also accompany the Buster Keaton silent film “The Electric House”.

You can keep up-to-date on all of the activities at the Historic Oroville State Theatre on line at www.orovillestatetheatre.com