Congratulations California Theatre!
San Bernardino recently celebrated the formal induction of its cultural jewel into the National Register of Historic Places. It means the 82-year-old queen among California’s Historic Theaters now has an excellent chance of forever avoiding the wrecking ball.
It’s on the nation’s official list of historic locations worthy of preservation.
San Bernardino now has four buildings in the National Register: The Downtown Post Office, the San Bernardino County Court House, the Santa Fe Depot and the California Theatre.
Our first honoree was the Post Office. As the population boomed during the 1920s, San Bernardino’s post office at the corner of Fourth and D streets outgrew its building. So, on August 1, 1931, a much larger two-story structure was constructed at 390 W. Fifth St. With an initial staff of 23 clerks and 23 mail carriers, this beautifully ornate post office with marble and oak interior became the city’s first federal building. It continues to serve the city and its residents to this day.
The present San Bernardino County Court House has been standing at the corner of Arrowhead Avenue and Court Street since 1926. It became the second structure to be listed in the National Register on January 12, 1998.
At the time, the Los Angeles Times newspaper raved about how local architect Howard E. Jones’ newest creation would be one of the most beautiful in Southern California. On Dec. 18, 1926,
the paper reported:
“NEW SAN BERNARDINO COURT HOUSE COMPLETED. Erected at a total cost of $700,000, San Bernardino County’s new courthouse is now finished and ready for occupancy. Built as a class A structure of reinforced concrete, the new courthouse is richly wrought with marble, art stone and other structural beautifiers. Marble was used for the staircases, bronze for the doors; the ceilings are richly decorated in pastel colors and gold leaf.”
The third building in San Bernardino to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places was the Santa Fe Depot. This occurred on Feb. 2, 2001.
The first permanent depot was a wooden structure built in 1886. It was destroyed by fire on Nov. 16, 1916. Soon afterward, construction began on a new $800,000 depot featuring Mission and Moorish-style architecture with domes, towers, and a tile roof.
As final preparations were being made for its grand opening on July 15, 1918, the San Bernardino Daily Sun declared it to be “the finest in the West” and “a credit to San Bernardino.”
Today, the restored depot serves Amtrak, houses the offices of Metrolink and Sanbag and is home to the fabulous San Bernardino History and Railroad Museum.
That brings us to our fourth and newest addition to the National Register: the California Theatre of the Performing Arts.
As motion pictures were coming into vogue during the 1920s, San Bernardino was keeping up with the times. The decade started out with the old Opera House showing occasional silent movies. Also featured in town were small “movie houses” like the Temple on Third and F streets, the Isis between D and E strees on Third Street, and the Broadway on Third Street between Arrowhead Avenue and D Street. Later there was the Strand (renamed the Ritz) on E Street.
Then came William Fox, the guru of the lavish chain of Fox West Coast Theaters. Within a few years, San Bernardino had three of them.
One of these was the 1,700-seat California Theatre at 562 W. Fourth St., which opened to a sold-out crowd with the movie “Street Angel” on Aug. 15, 1928. This flick was a sequel to the classic “Seventh Heaven,” which made box office stars of Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell. Both attended the grand opening.
The beautiful edifice featured an ornate facade, beautiful furnishings and floor coverings, and a spacious balcony.
Hosting both live vaudeville shows and movies, the California was the venue in 1935 for the last performance by Will Rogers, the legendary humorist who months later died in a plane crash in Alaska.
Alas, times changed. With the invasion of television, the old movie theaters gave way to more utilitarian and efficient multi-screen complexes. The California Theatre showed its last films, “What Happened to Aunt Alice?” and “How to Commit Marriage” to a small crowd in 1969.
Fortunately, though, it ultimately revived as a popular cultural mecca with musical productions, symphony productions, and other live performances.
As the result of a registration request written by Dr. James Mulvihill, consultant for the Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Bernardino, the California Theatre – which has the only Wurlitzer-style Opus 1850 organ still in use at its original location – won a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.
Today, the venue is owned by the San Bernardino Economic Development Agency and managed by Theatrical Arts International.