The Tower Theater - Sacramento, CA
N 38° 33.692 W 121° 29.595
10S E 631276 N 4269196
This historic Art Deco-themed movie theater is located at the corner of Broadway and Land Park Dr in Sacramento, CA.
Waymark Code: WMHB6E
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 06/18/2013
Views: 3
The historic Tower Theater stands out greatly in this part of Sacramento with its tall, white tower that contrasts well against the blue skies that are a frequent sight in the city. It is an Art Deco-themed building and has continuously operated as a movie theater since its inception in 1940.
I purchased a book titled The National Trust Guide to Art Deco in America by author David Gebhard (on Amazon here) and this vintage movie theater is listed in it and reads:
The architect (William David) took full advantage of this triangular site at the junction of two major streets. The theater itself, with its rounded five-story tower, is at the apex of the triangle. Single-story retail shops projects out on either side. The tower is composed of several layers; first, a series of drums; then, a taller, ribbed drum; finally, four vertical buttresses supporting the name of the theater. The horizontal lines on the face of the curved marquee are repeated on the entrance and lobby walls.
This movie theater is really a must-see structure if you're ever in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, a national company that specializes in acquiring vintage theaters purchased this building and immediately raised the prices of its independent special-venue movies. This hasn't sat well with the locals and the theater has lost many of its long-time patrons. Still, this building won't disappoint in its architectural significance and there's even a Mexican restaurant located in the building complex to patronize after watching your favorite movie. In addition to standing out with its bright white paint against blue skies, this theater stands out even more at night with beautiful neon lights that proudly display the word 'TOWER' along with other colors on the building. I wasn't at this building at night but have uploaded a couple of pictures I found online of this theater to give you a sense of this theater's classy, vintage look.
Through online research, I discovered that this theater was divided into three smaller showing rooms from its original one-screen theater in the 1980s.