Royal Theater in Guadalupe to be nominated to National Register of Historic Places

GUADALUPE, Calif. – The Royal Theater in Guadalupe is being nominated to the National Register of Historic Places

The theater is located in the Japanese enclave of Guadalupe—owned, built, and managed by Japanese Americans for both their immediate community and their neighbors.

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

The City of Guadalupe says it's a tribute to the many past and present Japanese American citizens who played a large role in Guadalupe’s history. 

The building itself is being renovated from a theater into a performing arts center. The new design is said to maintain the building's 1940 design, but modernize it within the requirements of California Historical Building Codes.

There will also be a 5,000-square-foot, three-story addition added to the back of the theatre. The addition will have a green room, classrooms and an industrial kitchen. A plaza and outdoor amphitheater will be added to the south side of the property.

The City of Guadalupe has released renderings of the proposed renovations.

Guadalupe city officials are working with a consulting company to apply for a one-time grant to fully fund the project.

The Office of Historical Preservation will hold a hearing on the nomination on January 21 and the city is gathering letters of support to be read out at the hearing.

If approved, the Royal Theater would be the first building in Guadalupe nominated to the National Register.