Project: California Theatre, Pittsburg, CA.
Photo credit: Courtesy California State Parks, 2016
The California Theatre is a cornerstone of the New York Landing Historic District in Old Town Pittsburg. It was designed by architect A.W. Cornelius in a classic revival style and constructed by Sylvester and Salvatore Enea in 1920. The theater quickly became a landmark for Pittsburg, showing the best in Hollywood films and vaudeville acts and setting the stage for the San Francisco Orpheum, Oakland Fox, and San Francisco Curran. The theater was later restored to incorporate many of the Art Deco features present today.
The California Theatre showed its last film in February 1954. Decades of neglect added to the deteriorating conditions. In 1994 the City conducted a cleanup and stabilization of the theater. However, due to the extremely high cost of renovation, no further improvements were made until 2006, when the City committed serious effort toward the renovation. Funding assistance was received from the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Pittsburg (Agency) as part of an overall plan to continue to improve Pittsburg. Renovation of the California Theatre met the Agency’s goals to improve the quality and mix of uses in the downtown area, and promote the area as the social, cultural, and entertainment center of the community.
The City and the Agency were sensitive to the historical significance of the structure, and hired a veteran theater restoration team from Architectural Resources Group (ARG) as the architect. Although design began in 2007, the theater's extremely deteriorated condition and scarce resources available for the renovation delayed the start of actual work until 2010. The building was seismically retrofitted, and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems upgraded. By conducting community outreach, City staff received valuable information about the theatre’s historical interior design and artwork. Light fixtures, handrails, and a tiled drinking fountain in the lobby were faithfully restored. Restoration artist Beate Bruhl recovered or recreated artwork in the entryway, balcony, and auditorium. With input from the community about desired theater amenities, the City Council approved additional funds for completion of the stage, installation of seating in the main theatre, and other operational improvements.
Through the efforts of prioritizing projects, allocating funding, building partnerships between agencies, and gaining community support, the curtain rose once again at the historic California Theatre in January 2013. Today the City-owned facility is home to the Pittsburg Community Theatre troupe, comedy shows, dance performances, films, and other community events. A booklet was created chronicling the restoration process, and Enea family members and other community members’ memories about the theatre were recorded on video. The California Theatre project stands as testament to the community’s determined commitment to preserve its collective heritage.
November 19, 2016 - SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Office of Historic Preservation is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2016 Governor’s Historic Preservation Awards. This year, eleven projects and one individual were awarded Thursday, November 10, for their exemplary work in preserving California’s richly diverse heritage.
Cuyama Valley–A Corridor to the Past
(Far Western Anthropological Research)
Kashaya Pomo Cultural Landscape Project
(Caltrans, Stewart’s Point Rancheria Kashia Pomo Band of Indians)
Ancestors 1/County of Lake Memorandum of Agreement
(Ancestors 1, County of Lake Board of Supervisors)
Citywide Historic Context Statement for LGBTQ History in San Francisco
(Donna Graves, Shayne Watson)
Interpreting the Drawings and Career of Architect John P. Pedersen
(Walter W. Stiern Library-CSU Bakersfield)
Little Italy San Diego Interactive Mobile App
(Little Italy Association of San Diego)
Preservation Resource Center at the Shotgun House
(Santa Monica Conservancy, City of Santa Monica)
Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture & Design Center, Edwards Harris Pavilion
(Palm Springs Art Museum, Marmol Radziner Los Angeles)
Home Front at Camp Anza
(City of Riverside, Wakeland Housing and Development Corp)
Santa Ysabel Restoration Project
(Save Our Heritage Organisation)
California Theatre
(City of Pittsburg)
Paula Boghosian
(Donald Cox)
The Governor’s Historic Preservation Awards Program was established in 1986 by Governor George Deukmejian, and is distinguished from other preservation awards in two important respects: it emphasizes involvement by community groups; and it recognizes a broad array of preservation activities, from building rehabilitation to archaeology, education, and preservation planning.
“In this 50th anniversary year of the National Historic Preservation Act, we are pleased to be recognizing California efforts that reflect the spirit and promise of preservation embodied in the Act, sustain communities, and help set us on a good path for the next fifty years,” said State Historic Preservation Officer Julianne Polanco.
For more information about the Awards program, and descriptions of this year’s awardees, and photos for media use, visit the Office of Historic Preservation’s Governor’s Historic Preservation Awards Program webpage.
Source: CDPR
