Senator Theatre

The Senator Theatre opened in 1927 as a 1,400-seat vaudeville and movie house. It was operated by T & D Jr. Enterprises chain.

In 1978, the theatre was purchased by United Artists. The company quickly sectioned off the balcony to create a second screening room, making the theater a twin.

The Senator Theatre was restored in 2001 and later reopened as a performing arts center. The restoration removed the artificial wall that was added in the twinning process and the theatre now seats almost 1,000 — making it one of the largest venues of its kind in the area. The lobby of the historic theatre is still intact and contains the original murals and chandelier.

The theatre mainly hosts concerts today. It is also currently for sale.

Recent comments (view all 32 comments)

lostmemory on December 19, 2007 at 12:14 pm

This is another photo of the Senator Theater.

longislandmovies on May 7, 2008 at 12:46 pm

http://www.bizquest.com/buy/898874.html

lostmemory on June 11, 2008 at 10:11 am

Here is a June 2008 photo.

atkinkd on August 9, 2008 at 12:01 pm

Anyone have any interior pictures? i have seen the CSUC collection and it was great, however it would be nice to see more extensive collection. Also, anyone interested in seeing the Seanator restored completely?

lostmemory on January 6, 2009 at 9:19 pm

This is a December 2008 exterior view.

kencmcintyre on September 11, 2009 at 1:01 pm

Here is another photo:
http://tinyurl.com/nehnnj

lostmemory on September 11, 2009 at 9:57 pm

Here are more photos:

1970 Photo

1980 Photo

1980 Photo

1984 Street Photo

1985 Night Photo

WJCoady on February 23, 2010 at 4:14 pm

I read the other day in the Chico paper that the El Rey is open again for special showings mostly on weekends. It seems unlikely that it will be converted to office space after all. If you get a chance go! The inside is amazing!

bkazmer on March 13, 2010 at 3:52 pm

I had forgotten that train in the middle of the street. I saw it in the 60s and in the 1984 photo above. Does this still happen. We were in the military when we saw it….probably 1966 or so. We did go to the Senator too!

Mikeyisirish on October 21, 2011 at 1:53 am

Here’s a recent photo: http://www.thewholeearthisfilledwithhisglory.com/theaters/024a.html