California Theatre (San Bernardino)

The California Theatre is a performing arts venue located in the historic Downtown area of San Bernardino, California. Originally a part of the Fox Theatre chain, it opened in 1928 and still houses its original Wurlitzer Style 216 pipe organ. It was also the last performance venue of Will Rogers prior to his death in a 1935 plane crash.

In the early years of Hollywood, filmmakers would test-screen their movies at the California Theatre. Classic films such as "King Kong" and "The Wizard of Oz" were first seen by audiences at the theatre in the 1930s.

The theatre is managed by Theatrical Arts International, the largest theatre company in the Inland Empire, which presents Broadway tours from the national touring circuit, and has hosted the San Bernardino Symphony since 1929. The theatre has recently hosted the tapings of Showtime's "The Latin Divas of Comedy", and "The Payaso Comedy Slam".

Famous quotes containing the words california and/or theatre:

    It shone on everyone, whether they had a contract or not. The most democratic thing I’d ever seen, that California sunshine.
    Angela Carter (1940–1992)

    People fall out of windows, trees tumble down,
    Summer is changed to winter, the young grow old
    The air is full of children, statues, roofs
    And snow. The theatre is spinning round,
    Colliding with deaf-mute churches and optical trains.
    The most massive sopranos are singing songs of scales.
    Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)