While on our way to the haunted Pioneer cemetery in Simi Valley and prior to conducting our primary investigation at the de la Guerra adobe/Strathearn house, Wayne Bonner and I stopped off at the incredible Simi Valley Cultural Art Center to take some photographs. Located at 3050 Los Angeles Avenue this Greek revival building has served the Simi Valley community since the mid 1920s when it was constructed as the Simi Community Methodist Episcopal Church. During 1925 Earthquakes and fires in 1925 pressed the building into use as classrooms for Simi Elementary and Simi Valley High School. After the Methodist congregation outgrew the facility, it was sold to the Huber family for use as a mortuary and residence. In 1978 the building was again sold, this time to the Jewish congregation of Temple Ner Tamid. By 1980, Ownership transferred to Bob Mitchell, who had dreams of turning the historic structure into a restaurant. Sadly, his plans fell through and the building sat vacant. During 1981, the building was approved as Ventura County Historical Landmark No. 67. Damage to the empty building during the 1994 Northridge Earthquake caused the City to consider demolishing the building. Thanks to the persistence of then Mayor Bill Davis and his wife Ginni, preservation grants were found and matched by the city to give the building continued life as the community’s center for cultural arts. On November 3 and 4, 1995 it reopened as the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center with star of stage and screen Rita Moreno in concert. The result is a spectacular Neo-Classic structure in gleaming columned glory showcasing hints of its former life. With the first refurbishing, the church pews, cushioned for comfort, were used as seating on the theater’s main floor. Today some of them grace the lobby as seating for patrons prior to shows and during intermission. But the pew ends were incorporated into the theater seating to preserve the integrity of the theater’s original design. Other hints of its past elegance are visible as well. A row of sconces in the main theater, a doorway, even a downstairs lobby light fixture that has hung in the same place since1924 are all tributes to the building’s varied and colorful past. The numerous stained glass windows, badly damaged in the earthquake, were duplicated thanks to a researcher discovering that the company that made them in 1924 still existed. Following a call to the New York-based glass craftsmen, it was discovered that the original order was still on file after 71 years and could indeed be duplicated. The lower level lobby features a working fireplace, the box office, front office and public restrooms. Also on that level is the Multipurpose Room, available for rentals, that also acts as a rehearsal space for the shows. It features a small stage and accesses a fully equipped catering kitchen. The multi-purpose community room has a seating capacity of 93 for dinner or classroom seating for 174. The MPR also leads to the Green Room or preparation area for actors as well as two dressing rooms and an actors’ restroom. While serving the living, the building is also home to several spirits who have been tentatively noted as a possible minster, a lady in white (must have one of those); a possible funeral director, three children and a ghost dog. From the balcony, stage and main floor to the dressing rooms, the living seem to have no problem co-existing with the dead. This amazing building stands as a last testament to preserving the past. simi-arts.org/history.aspx
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 19:09:34 +0000
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