Covina Center For The Performing Arts - History

History

The original Covina Theater was built in 1920 in the Reed building at the corner of Citrus and Badillo and was a downtown Covina staple for entertainment. It was a modern theater for its time. They played two films nightly, the newsreel and then accompanied by the piano, a silent film followed. Saturday matinées showed the serials so popular in its time. The theater became a hot spot for many of the Covina youths when “The Candy Box” opened in the building. Then came the color of film, in the 1930s, the theater was remodeled to fit the needs of the day and continued to bring entertainment to the city of Covina. The second floor of the theater was removed and the Masonic Lodge that had resided in this space was closed to add more space for a larger balcony section. In 1948, the whole building was again remodeled to put in place precautions against the ever-present earthquakes of the region. Now came the addition of sound to film, which once again set new renovations to the theater as “The Candy Box” moved out. Business boomed and the theatre thrived. In the 1950s the theater continued to remodel to suit the needs of its patrons and the entertainment medium they presented. In 1961 the theater’s marquee was added. It wasn't until 1984 that the building was used by a theatrical company the West Covina Players, they moved into the theatre after the building had been dark for a year. In 1993 the West Covina Players opened their season in June at their new location at the Covina Theater, with the musical classic, “Fiddler on the Roof”, and with it transformed into the Covina Valley Playhouse. Operating out of this facility till the closing production of Kander & Ebb’s “Cabaret”.