Q & A

Below is an excerpt from article written for the Washington High School newspaper.

Q: What is the history of the Center Theater and its current situation?
A: Built in 1946 by the Salih Family (members of the family still live in Niles) the Center Theater opened in 1947 to serve Washington Township (Centerville, Irvington, Mission San Jose, Niles, Warm Springs as well as Newark and what is now known as Union City) Although many of these communities had smaller movie theaters, the Center Theater had the largest seating capacity of any theater in the area. It was state of the art at the time of opening. The grand marquee in neon was a beacon for the surrounding area and quickly became the icon for Centerville. The original ticket booth, located in front of the theater, no longer exists. In the late 1960's, new multi-screen and modern theaters began to open, including the Fox Theater at the Hub and a two screen complex at the shopping center that is now Gateway Plaza where Raleys is located. This caused a decline in revenue for the Center. The owners moved away from showing first run movies and began renting the theater to individuals. One such was Bill Graham, whom as you may know went on to become a famous promoter of bands. The Grateful Dead use to practice at the Center Theater prior to becoming famous. In the 1970's, the theater was rented to a variety of operators to show second run movies and ethnic movies. It became known as the Cine Azteca. Additionally, the Rocky Horror Picture Show was shown on Saturday nights. Later and most recently, the theater was operated under the name of the Naz Cinema. The venue showed movies from Bollywood as well as other middle eastern countries. It also had late night showings of Cricket matches After the Naz moved to the Hub multi-plex cinema, I operated the theater for a few months showing classic movies and hosting concerts and comedy shows. Now, there is another operator using the Center Theater under the name of the Park Theater, and it once again shows middle eastern movies as well as shows cricket matches.

Q: What exactly does the Preservation Group want to do?
A: The Center Theater Preservation Group wants to purchase and restore the theater and offer it to the community as a venue for the Performing Arts (adult and children's theater) classic movies, public forums, concerts, comedy shows, etc. We desire to create a sustainable business plan that includes strategic partnerships with organizations such as the Fremont Unified School District and performing arts groups in the area. We desire the theater to be restored, including the neon marquee, to become the icon of Centerville it once was.

Q: Is there a future date when the plan will be realized?
A: April 10th will be a critical date to our effort, as we will be asking the City Council acting as the redevelopment agency to allocate funding to implement the next phase of our business plan that prepares the CTPG organizationally to hand this project.

Q: How long has this group been around?
A: Who started it? Actually, the Centerville Unified Site project, not the redevelopment plan, has been cancelled. The developer involved decided not to move forward with his plans. The city is looking for another developer to develop the site. It is just a delay, not a plan cancellation. This affects our efforts only to the degree that it shows the necessity for a venue such as the Center Theater in Centerville to stimulate economic activity and to make the historic Centerville district one that people will return to for shopping, dining and entertainment. Our group, the CTPG (Center Theater Preservation Group) has been around for 5 years. Julie Gilson and myself started it after our "sit in" on the marquee of the theater back in July of 2001. The sit in was conducted to raise awareness of the decline of the theater and the need for its restoration and eventual use as a community performing arts venue.

Q: What have been the group's major accomplishments?
A: Our Oscar Night 2006 was a huge success. Additionally, we assisted in the writing of a business plan with the assistance of an historic theater consultant (Venuetech) and the city of Fremont. We will prevail in our effort to create a community based performing arts center...and the next phase of our plan will see that come to fruition. Again, April 10th will be a critical meeting in the effort to restore and operate this historic icon of Centerville.