Azteca Theater (Fresno, California) facts for kids
The Azteca Theater (also called Teatro Azteca) is a historic movie theater in the Chinatown area of Fresno, California. It was built in 1948 by Gustavo Acosta. This theater was the first place in the San Joaquin Valley to show movies in Spanish. It was very important for the many Mexican-American families living in California's Central Valley. Because of its history, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.
History of the Azteca Theater
The Azteca Theater was designed by a company from Fresno called Johnson & Moore Consulting Engineers. They also designed the Biola Theater. The Azteca Theater officially opened its doors on November 30, 1948.
In 1956, Gustavo Acosta rented the Azteca Theater to Arturo Tirado. Mr. Tirado became very important to the theater and to entertainment for the Hispanic community. He worked there until he retired in the 1980s. In 1961, Arturo Tirado was even the president of a group called the Spanish Pictures Exhibitors Association. This group represented 300 movie theaters across the United States. His father, Romualdo Tirado, was also well-known in California theater.
The Azteca Theater was famous for showing movies from the "Golden Age of Mexican Cinema". Many famous stars from that time appeared there, including Cantinflas, Pedro Infante, María Félix, Agustín Lara, Pedro Vargas, Miguel Aceves Mejía, Pedro Armendáriz, Antonio Aguilar, and José Alfredo Jiménez.
Besides popular films, the theater also hosted live singers and stage shows. It was a very important place for the community. On March 24, 1966, César Chávez, a famous leader, used the theater as a meeting point for his march from Delano to Sacramento.
The Azteca Theater closed in the late 1980s. It partly reopened in 1999, hosting an art gallery and special events. In 2014, the theater was carefully restored to its former glory.
Architecture and Design
The Azteca Theater is a two-story building made of brick. It was built in a style called Art Deco, which was popular at the time.
Inside the lobby, there is a statue of Bruce Lee. This is a hint that the theater also showed kung-fu movies! In the dressing room backstage, you can find signatures of many artists who performed there over the years.
Some of the old wooden organ pipes from the theater are now on display. You can see them on the walls of the bar next door, which is called "A Love Letter to Fresno."
See also
In Spanish: Teatro Azteca para niños
- Azteca Theater (Houston, Texas)
- History of Mexican Americans
- Californios
