After more than a year of working to have the Royal Theatre designated as historical, the city of Guadalupe has received confirmation from the Office of Historical Preservation that a hearing has been set for 9 a.m. Jan. 21.

Guadalup hired Carole Denardo of Provenience Group, Inc. to determine whether the Royal Theatre building was historical,;and on behalf of the city, she completed the application to the National Register of Historical Places.

Before the hearing date, Guadalupe is gathering letters of endorsement, which will help the applications by showing community support for preservation of the building. Every letter will be read at the hearing.

The day of the hearing, there will be remote access for the community to listen and watch the hearing, but due to COVID-19 the meeting will be held virtually. The community will be able to observe the session and provide remarks during the public comment period.

The city is pleased that the building, which is important in the history of Guadalupe, is being considered for the National Register. As the only theater building in Guadalupe, the Royal Theater architecture features a blend of modernistic design elements, which include an Art Moderne-curved corner and smooth stucco-wall surface, paired with Art Deco geometric design elements on the triangular-shaped ornate marquee.

The Royal Theater was one of several movie theaters owned by Japanese immigrant Arthur Shogo Fukuda, who was forced to sell the building before he and his family were interned at the Jerome Relocation Center in Arkansas.

As a property type located in the Japanese enclave of Guadalupe — owned, built, and managed by Japanese Americans for both their immediate community and their neighbors — the building is a tribute to the many past and present Japanese American citizens who played a large role in Guadalupe’s history.

The building’s function was more that a movie theater, as residents also associate the building as a venue for past local events, and the marquee still serves as a billboard for community activities.

There are few historical designated buildings in northern Santa Barbara County, and if approved by the State Historical Resources Commission (SHRC), the Royal Theater will be the first building in the city of Guadalupe to be nominated to the National Register.

In addition to the city’s work to have the Royal Theatre designated historical, the building and adjoining lots are in a design phase, with the plans being taken to the Dec. 14 City Council meeting.

The building, in which the design team is assuming the theater will be successfully included in the National Register of Historical Building, is being revitalize from a movie theater into a performing arts center. While the design keeps the original building as it was in the 1940s, it will be upgraded and modernized but within the requirements of the California Historical Building Codes.

There will be a 5,000-square-foot, three-story addition connect to the back of the theater, allowing for a green room, classrooms, meeting spaces, and an industrial kitchen. To the south side of the building there will be a plaza, along with an outdoor amphitheater and new parking lot. Attached, please see three renderings to give you visual taste of the future.

The design team has been working with a stakeholder group made up of community members who have voiced an interest in the theater and its history.

The city hired the consulting firm Townsend Public Affairs, Inc. to work with Los Amigos de Guadalupe to complete an application to the EA under the Travel, Tourism & Outdoor Recreation program.  This is a one-time program design to help communities recover from the effects of Covid.

In other words, it Guadalupe’s only opportunity to get these funds, and with a maximum grant amount of $10 million, the project could be fully funded. The grant is competitive and requires the city to survey businesses, locally and in some cases beyond the city’s boundaries, to see what the project could do economically.

The city has begun the outreach as it is a critical portion of the application: the EDA puts scoring values in jobs created, saved or dollars invested.

For more information email Tom Brandeberry, tombrandeberry@RCDCC.org or call 916-281-7638 or Mayor Ariston Julian, Ariston.julian@me.com or call 805-868-5933.