City Maps Restoration of Its Historic Theater : Fillmore: Film Commission weighs renovation plan to recommend to the city for bringing life back to the quake-damaged building.

Like so many landmarks in downtown Fillmore, the Towne Theater stands cracked and broken, a crumbling, boarded-up victim of the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake.

Many neighboring buildings have been razed. Others are abandoned and decaying.

But with help from the Fillmore City Council and a $475,000 state historical preservation grant, a group of volunteers is working to renovate the 1916 vaudeville house that later became a movie theater.

“We’re hoping we can re-create some of that old magic, with silent films and the piano backstage,” Councilman Scott Lee said. “It hasn’t been done anywhere that I know of.”

The Fillmore Film Commission, which is overseeing the restoration effort, will meet tonight to decide on a renovation plan to recommend to the City Council. The city purchased the building for about $75,000 in May, fearing that the owner would otherwise demolish it because the damage was so extensive.

The back wall of the theater collapsed during the quake and part of the roof fell in. The facade is cracked and needs major repairs. Officials believe that the grant money will cover structural repairs, and they plan a series of fund-raisers to finance the interior improvements.

Commission members hope to select an architect soon to draw up blueprints for the restoration, which is expected to take about a year.

Most of all, they want to preserve the structure’s historical integrity.

But they are also considering the addition of modern-day improvements such as digital sound and an editing room, which would allow filmmakers who work in Fillmore to review what they shoot without leaving town.

“We want to make it varied so it can do many things,” Lee said, “like showing movies, live stage and other things complementing the movie industry here in town. . . . It has to be a diverse type of facility.”

Commissioner John McKinnon said the theater restoration will lure even more producers and directors to the town of 12,000 residents.

“One of the things that attracts the film people is that it looks like Anytown, USA,” said McKinnon, who heads the volunteer panel.

City officials say they earned more than $30,000 in permit fees last year, when films such as “Bitter Harvest” and television shows such as “Unsolved Mysteries” were shot in Fillmore.

Constructing a multiuse venue at the Towne Theater will only help the city’s image as a movie-making center, Assistant City Manager Allan Coates said.

“It’s envisioned to be a working theater as well as a movie house, playhouse and for concerts,” he said. “Using it as a place where directors can review their daily shoots will help too.”

Commission members have much to do before they reach their goal of dedicating the restored building. In addition to the structural repairs, the interior needs a major cleanup.

The theater kiosk still offers $4 adult seats for the evening showing of Beethoven’s 2nd, the movie playing Jan. 16--the night before the earthquake.

Reels of trailers for films such as “Schindler’s List” and “Falling Down” are boxed in the lobby, where the aging projection equipment was moved after the quake. Hundreds of feet of unraveled celluloid lie tangled nearby.

Months-old popcorn remains in the popper atop the 1930s-style snack bar, next to an unopened plastic bottle of root beer concentrate and three tall stacks of empty soda cups.

One of Lee’s favorite proposals calls for a mix of motifs in the restored theater.

Visitors might stroll in front of a 1940s-style marquee before entering a 1930s-era lobby. Sections of seating inside the auditorium would run from 1990s-type upholstery to the original World War I-era front rows.

Fire Chief Pat Askren toured the broken theater shell Tuesday, reminiscing about the 25-cent movies he watched as a boy growing up in Fillmore.

“It’s a main attraction for our town,” said Askren, rummaging through piles of bricks behind the original stage.

“Let’s face it; there’s not a lot to do here,” he said. “If you don’t want to go to a bar on Saturday nights, there’s always a movie.”

FYI

Although a $475,000 state historical preservation grant has been approved for structural renovations to the Towne Theater, the Fillmore Film Commission is seeking contributions to restore the building’s interior. More than $14,000 has been received so far, and a series of fund-raisers is being planned. For information, call 524-0410.