The Tower Theatre

An iconic theater and one of the signature buildings of the city of Fresno, the Tower Theater was built and opened in 1939 as a member of the 20th Century Fox chain. The theater was restored with authentic art deco murals, backlit etched glass panels, and sculpted aluminum. The restoration occurred during fifteen months from 1989 to 1990, after community members sponsored local fundraisers and secured grants for historic preservation. In 1992, the theater became a National Register of Historic Places entry for its architectural significance. The Tower Theater is now a performing arts center (the Tower Theatre for the Performing Arts) with nightly shows and a gift shop. The theater, or the smaller Tower Lounge, are available for rental for special events.

Los Angeles architect S. Charles Lee (1899-1990) designed the Tower Theater in Streamline Moderne style; early drawings called it the Ritz Theater. Building permits date the beginning of construction to May 1939. The steel-reinforced concrete building resembled an arrowhead when viewed from above, with the auditorium at a 45-degree angle from the street corner, between two street-side wings. The cantilevered marquee wrapped around the street corner entrance containing a box office. Lee revised his original design in August 1939, simplifying the top ornamentation of the building to a slim, fluted tower, 80 feet tall. The neon lighted tower above the corner entrance was topped by a multi-colored globe; the design was similar to the star pylon that represented the power of electricity and served as a landmark of the 1939 World's Fair in New York City. Each of the sides of the auditorium featured three recessed areas with circular, hand-painted murals above aluminum light sconces. The theater was only the second in the U.S. to use black lights to illuminate decorative murals.

The official grand opening for the public happened on December 15th, 1939, with two movies being shown: Dancing Coed and Henry Goes Arizona. Some of the final details of the building were still being placed until late January 1940. The two side wings have housed numerous businesses since 1940, in what had been a shopping district since the 1920s; the tower became a Fresno landmark and the neighborhood came to be called the Tower District. The new theater building was featured in an illustrated article in Motion Picture Herald.

Some changes were made to the movie viewing screen when the theater changed to Cinemascope in 1954: a false proscenium stage surrounding the screen was removed. The Tower switched from showing feature films to repertory cinema (i.e. classic or foreign films) in 1980. The theater was in debt and closed in 1989. An historic preservation-sensitive renovation took place over the next fifteen months, focusing on the theater's auditorium and the retail wings. Architectural historian John E. Powell (who also wrote the National Register nomination) and Kennedy-Lutz Architecture were instrumental in the $1.2 million renovation project. The stage was rebuilt, along with dressing rooms. The restored and renovated auditorium can seat 761 at full capacity. The historic, round murals on the auditorium walls were restored by hand. The original carpeting from 1939 was duplicated, as well as gold and silver leaf decorations in the lobby. Center Stage Management Group in Napa became the new managers of the theater when it reopened in March 1990. The "Tower Theatre for the Performing Arts" was reinvented as a locale for local and national live entertainment acts to perform. The shop spaces in the side wings held restaurants, stores, and medical offices by the early 1990s. Lee designed hundreds of theater buildings over his career, but the Tower Theater is the lone remaining suburban 1930s theater designed by Lee, and his only building design in Fresno. The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1992 for its architectural significance.

Anonymous. "Renovated theater to reopen ." The Hanford Sentinel (Hanford) March 8th, 1990. 17-17.

Powell, John Edward. NRHP nomination of Tower Theatre, 1201 Wishon Ave., Fresno, CA. National Register of Historic Places. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1992.

Tower Theatre for the Performing Arts. About the Historic Tower Theatre, Tower Theatre for the Performing Arts. January 1st, 2024. Accessed April 30th, 2024. https://www.towertheatrefresno.com/about.html.

Tower Theatre for the Performing Arts. Tower Theatre Events Center for Rentals, Tower Theatre for the Performing Arts. January 1st, 2024. Accessed April 30th, 2024. https://www.towertheatrefresno.com/rentals.html.