Circa 1931
Actually, it’s not “circa” 1931, it was exactly October 31st, 1931 when the historic Merced Theatre opened its doors for the first time. It showed the world premier of Local Boy Makes Good staring Joe E. Brown.
For the next 47 years it would serve the Merced community in a wide variety of ways including concerts, graduations, dance performances, weddings and of course, movies. It was and still is treasured by the people of Merced County. The Tower is the most recognized landmark in Merced.
The Theatre was designed by the Reid Brothers , prestigious architects from San Francisco for the Golden State Theatre Corporation, and boasted 1,645 seats with the first air conditioning for any building in the County. The City of Merced had a population of only 7,066 at the time. Historians think the Theatre is the last project completed by the Reid Brothers as one of them died 3 months after the opening. The Theatre building includes five retail spaces and ten second-floor apartments on the Main Street frontage.
In 2002 the City of Merced Redevelopment Agency purchased the Theatre Building. Since that time the Merced Theatre Foundation has leased the Theatre from the City and is responsible for day to day operations. Theatre Two remains operational with 300 seats and a small stage where movies are shown monthly and other events are held by arrangement.
In 1998 a group of Merced residents formed the Merced Theatre Foundation, Inc., with the goal of restoring the Theatre to its former glory as a showplace for motion pictures and live performances.
In August 2007, The Merced Theatre restoration project took a giant leap forward with a $1,935,000 grant from the California Cultural and Historic Endowment.
The City of Merced and the Merced Theatre Foundation are working on Phase 3, which will restore the historic theater to its 1931 glory. For many years the theater was the entertainment and cultural center of Merced but in later years it became a four-plex with much of the interior detail covered over.
“This is a momentous occasion for the theater restoration project,” said Merced Mayor Ellie Wooten. “We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani and the Merced Theatre Foundation for their help, and to the state Endowment for funding this project.”
The complete restoration of the Merced Theatre in Phase 3 is estimated to cost $6 million. Along with the grant, a variety of public and private financing would be used to finish the project.
The theater restoration is the only project in Merced County funded by the Endowment in its five-year history. There were 184 applications submitted for this round of funding and 63 projects were recommended for funding.
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As you retrieve this easy cache, take a glance across the street to see this elegant building.