SANTA PAULA : City to Buy, Restore 1900s Movie Theater

In an effort to maintain the town’s historical character, the city of Santa Paula has decided to purchase and restore the Tower Theater.

Featuring a Mission Revival-style architecture, the theater was built in the early 1900s and was used as a movie theater until it was closed in 1987, said Ken Cott, the city’s economic development director.

Fearing that the building would be demolished, the city’s Redevelopment Agency agreed this week to pay $92,000 to the theater’s owner. The theater had been on the market for years, but prospective buyers were put off by damage to the facility, Cott said.

“The theater is one of the most significant buildings in our downtown area,” Cott said. “We did not want, as a community, to lose a historical resource.”

Within the next few months, the city plans to bring the building up to code and restore its marquee, Cott said.

Although city officials have yet to decide how they are going to use the building, Cott said, it is unlikely that they will use it as a movie theater again because the floor has been replaced with a flat floor. It would also be difficult to reinstall film projection equipment in the theater, he said.