History of Oroville's State Theatre and Renovation  

 The STATE THEATRE has been an integral part of downtown Oroville since it was dedicated on April 7, 1928. T & D Enterprises, Incorporated owned numerous theaters throughout California and Nevada. Their General Manager, M. A. Naify, contracted two architects, Timothy L. Pflueger and J. R. Miller, to design the grand, new Oroville facility. These two men also created that lofty pinnacle of progress--the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Building in San Francisco, and Oakland's Paramount Theater. Timothy Phlueger is today considered one of the premier Art Deco Architects of the West Coast. The Theatre is now recognized in the National Historical Register.

statetheatre The Theatre was designed for both vaudeville acts and silent films and included a Mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ to accompany them. Soon after the theatre opened, “talkies” were introduced, and the theatre had a sound system added. Live performances continued through the late 1950s, although much less frequently. During the 1940s these included USO shows and local talent shows broadcast live on the radio. High Scholl graduations were traditionally held at the theatre also.

After United Artists purchased the building, the theatre became a movie house, only showing films. Live theater in the building would not return until 1987. In the early 1980s, United Artists remodeled, splitting the theatre into two theatres by dividing the main auditorium with a wall, and pouring a new, flat sloping floor with straight row seating. The original bowl-shaped floor, which had arched shaped rows still exists under the current floor.

During the summer of 1986 United Artists notified the City of its intent to close and sell the theatre. Rather than have a vacant building downtown, the City viewed the pending closure as an opportunity to fill a long-standing need for a community performance center. On September 30, 1986 the City of Oroville purchased the facility for $200,000 ($167,000 from the Oroville Redevelopment Agency and $33,000 from the Oroville Community Center Committee). The Oroville Community Center Committee made a commitment to the City of providing $30,000 for three years to offset operating expenditures if the City would undertake this venture.

The Theatre was under renovation to return it to the capacity of a performing arts facility with the ability to show films for the rest of 1986 and all of 1987. The total purchase and renovation cost was $679,510. The Theatre Ballet of San Francisco's NUTCRACKER was the first performance in the renovated theatre in December of 1987. The main floor has seating for 608; however, when the balcony is renovated and the original floor and seating arrangement restored, the facility will seat 1,000.

During the summer of 1988, the theatre had a temporary set-back with an electrical fire. Insurance paid for the repairs and clean-up operations. The City took advantage of the scaffolding throughout the facility to complete repairs to the ceiling and to paint the main auditorium.

In 2003, the city contracted the architect firm of Paul Roberts and Associates to develop a long-term restoration plan for the theatre. The plans include a restoration of the exterior to the “period of greatest influence.”  This period is estimated to be 1938 to 1950. During this time the building was “as built” but the marquee and blade sign were more ornate than the 1928 version. As part of the restoration design, the old Myers street upstairs offices will be converted to a large multi-purpose room for smaller events and receptions. The original “airlock” entrance will be re-established, and a new stairway and elevator to the balcony and upstairs will be added. These changes will not affect the original interior of the theater as they will be put in part of the front stores area. The plans also call for the re-establishment of the original bowl-shaped auditorium floor with the seats arranged in an arc centered on the stage, as they were originally. The other major change will be extending the building 30 feet to the east to provide space for modern rest rooms, concessions, green room and off-stage storage as well as fire escapes for the balcony area.

The interior of the theatre will be restored closely to the 1928 décor. Part of this restoration will be simply undoing the 1950s alterations when much of the original auditorium interior was covered over with hardboard to “modernize” the décor. Removing this covering will expose much of the original interior finish, the remained will have to be replicated following the surviving portions we have for patterns. The stairway mural has been investigated, and can be restored. The long-gone lobby light fixtures were identical to the ones in Redding’s Cascade Theatre (another T & Djr built house), so plans for their reproduction are available.

In 2007, the city invested over a half-million dollars to replace the heating/cooling systems and all stage curtains. The new system was installed carefully to allow the original auditorium chandeliers to be rehung in their original locations (The original chandeliers are in storage, awaiting restoration).

In 2008, the exterior restoration began with an $800,000 project to stabilize and restore the Myers street store facades and upper floor façade. This should be finished by the summer of 2009. The Theatre entrance and Marquee are not part of this project, but will be addressed in the future.

Facility improvements continue through the strong support of volunteers, business, and community organizations. Donations include upgrading the marquee, painting, renovating restrooms, dressing room repairs, stage extensions, and others too numerous to mention. The community support of the Oroville State Theater PAC continues to be the backbone of this gem of Oroville’s Historic Downtown.