Downtown Fresno Theater presents historical spectacle

Warnors Theatre stands tall and grand, a trademark among the buildings of of downtown Fresno. High ornate ceilings and a rare vintage organ draw eyes and crowds from afar.

Purchased from former owner Alexander Pantages by Warner Brothers in 1929, the National Historic Theater, Warnors, represents one of the oldest and most unique structures in the Fresno area.

Over the course of Warnors lifetime, the theater changed owners and forms several times. In the early 60’s, the theater transferred from a Pantage to a Cinerama set up.

The Warnors fell upon difficult financial times in the early 70s and the city threatened to demolish the theater.  Long time Fresno resident, Frank Caglia purchased Warnors in 1973 and rescued the theater from demolishment.

As a boy, Caglia was rumored to have been the first resident to buy a ticket at the theater. Upon purchase of the building Caglia inscribed his name and the date upon the orchestra pit wall.  Today the theater contains a venue dedicated to Caglia and his contributions to the establishment.

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Activities director Michelle Swift says the atmosphere of the theater elicits a deep appreciation of days long since passed for many visitors of Warnors.

“I think being in well preserved old places like Warnors incites a feeling in people, a nostalgic type of feeling they don’t get anywhere else,” Swift said  “ You don’t necessarily get this feeling from being in a museum or something like that but it’s in a way the feeling of being able to step back in time.”

In 1928 the silent movie era raised the need for accompaniment. Warnors purchased a pipe organ from the Robert Morton Organ Company, a renowned producer of the instrument.

The organ weathered time in the theater and maintained a rare and high quality tone. In modern day, only twenty one similar instruments exist throughout the US.

Swift says the organ alone stands as one of many unique historic aspects of Warnors Theatre.

“The organ happens to be one of a kind,” Swift said.  It’s very rare that an organ is installed somewhere from that long ago and today it’s still in its original installation. A lot of the short pipe organs end up being kind of bounced around and pieced together to make sure that they work. However, this one has always stayed in the facility since the theater opened in 1928. It’s also one of the only pipe organs in the world that house’s the pipes under the stage as supposed to either side of the stage like a lot of then do. And it was designed specifically for silent films so it has all sorts of sound effects to accompany it and it can replicate any instrument in the orchestra.”

The theater includes a wide range of performance genera’s such as folklore dance, standup comedy, rock bands, Christian groups, live plays and much more on a month to month basis.

Warnors recognized an interest in the classic movies of the 60s, 70s, and 80s after a survey of the theater’s patrons. Due to this enthusiasm, they scheduled one classic movie for the third Thurs. of every month in 2016.

Swift says the classic movies will both transport adults from the time period to their childhood and expose modern day youth to a different era of films.

I’d encourage people to come down here because they need to. Without those people this won’t be here. They’ll miss it when it’s gone. We need your support and we want you to experience it and go and tell everyone else about it as well. –Christopher Dutchery 

“They’re going to be geared towards those who grew up in the 70s, 80s and 90s,” Swift said. “We have the Princess Bride coming out this month in honor of Valentine’s Day and we have a bunch of really emotional films that are going to connect with the audience this year. Hocus Pocus in October for example is going to be just a really good showing that will let people get back to their childhood and introduce the new generation. Now a lot of people who grew up back then have children of their own and they want to introduce them to movies like the Ghost Busters.”

As a 501C3 non-profit or Community Benefit Organization (CBO), Warnors depends on individual donations, volunteers and the participation of the community in order to raise enough profit.

Facilities Director, Christopher Dutchery says the people of Fresno County hold the power to help the theater stay open and thriving for generations to come.

“I’d encourage people to come down here because they need to,” Dutchery said. “Without those people this won’t be here. They’ll miss it when it’s gone. We need your support and we want you to experience it and go and tell everyone else about it as well.”

Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Church, Jim Franklin says this area of downtown Fresno encompasses a wide variety of valuable historic landmarks. He encourages the community to engage in these unique features.

“I think there are a lot of folks who never venture downtown,” Franklin said. “When they think of downtown they think of the problems of downtown. This isn’t the problems of downtown this is the beauty of downtown. Fulton Street is a classic with the PG&E building, with the Warnors Theatre, and with the Wilson Theater. This is really an opportunity for the people of Fresno to see the heyday, the beauty of the history of Fresno.”

For more information on Warnors Theater, please visit their website or check out their Twitter: @WarnorsCenter and Instagram warnors_center.

This writer can be reached via Twitter: @skylerklee and via Email: Skyler Lee.