Entertainment has been an integral part of the fabric of Lompoc culture from its beginning in 1874 when it was formed as a planned temperance city by the Lompoc Valley Land Company. The first venues were two dance halls on the second floors of the Swanton Stables on I Street and the Dinwiddie Store on H Street. Itinerant bands and musicians provided the entertainment for the various events in these halls.
In 1891, a bandstand was built on the southeast corner of H and Ocean by the Lompoc Brass Band. It was here that a weekly public concert was performed on Saturdays led by Professor Soria. The Bandstand was later moved to Miguelito Canyon Park where picnics were held for many generations of Lompocans.
At the urging of the Alpha Club ladies, a stock company was formed called the Lompoc Hall Association in 1890 to build the Opera House on two lots at the corner of Cypress and H streets. A two-story frame building was erected for a cost of $5,000. Stock was sold at $10 a share, and a board of directors was formed. This first performing arts theater had a stage with a drop curtain and all stage props. For 50 years, this venue was the site of almost everything that happened in Lompoc. Dances were held every Saturday. Plays were performed by local and traveling troupes, and graduations, weddings, and banquets were located here. The hall cost $10 to rent. Later, the maple wood floors were added, and besides dancing, the hall was used for roller-skating. The Balaams, Sorias, and Wallings orchestras provided dance music.
Silent motion picture films were introduced in 1909 when electricity came to town. In 1914, the association sold its interest to William Baker and Walter Calvert, the operators of the Opera House.
This happy place was torn down in 1940 to construct a bowling alley. Today this site is the Mattress Store.
As the movie industry grew, it needed new theaters as outlets for its productions. So it was that in 1926, the West Coast Theatre Company of Santa Barbara made an offer to lease a theater building on a site on H Street at the alley, if one were to be built. This space had been purchased by the Knights of Pythias some years earlier from the owner in Glendale, for their plans to build a new temple hall. The Knights were a worldwide organization that had a policy of building their temples along with schools or theaters. William Baker and Walter Calvert heard about this offer and decided to keep the development local by making a counter offer and drawing up a lease. Construction of such a theater seemed remote in 1926, but a financial plan seemed feasible.
To proceed with construction, a building association was formed with Judge L. Huseman as chairman. A financial offer by Dr. L. E. Heiges enabled the committee to work out plans to proceed. In preparation for construction, the Knights had the four wooden frame buildings on the three city lots that became the theater building site removed. The first building in the valley built in 1875, “the Land Office,” was retained by the Knights as an operations office and moved to the back of the lot from H Street, where it remains today. This building is known as the Harness
Shop, Shoe Shop, and theater dressing room and the “Y” today.
More than $100,000 went into the building construction project—approximately $59,000 in the bare building alone, $22,000 in the new organ, $6,000 in seats, and $3,000 in curtains. C.D. Reiner and Sons of Santa Maria had the general contract. The building was, at that time, considered state-of-the-art reinforced concrete. A Hollywood artist did the interior decorating. The theater’s scenic equipment consisted of drapes, olios, scene curtains, and a cyclorama. The stage control system was the best Hollywood could provide. The front curtain contained the world famous Knight of Pythias emblem. In front of the stage was an orchestra pit with organ, and behind this, under the stage, were dressing rooms. The stage was 38 feet wide and 15 feet deep. Side doors exited onto the outside. There were 450 seats, with room for an addition of 100 more, if needed.
The front of the theater building has offices on the second floor and shops on the first floor. Judge Huseman had to vacate his office when the old buildings were moved, but opened a new office in the first floor of the new theater when completed. A candy shop was installed on the south side of the main entrance to the theater.
The theater and office portion were completed in 1927, however the Knights temple was not financed in the new structure. Floor joists were in place for future construction, but income from the businesses in the building had to overcome indebtedness before the temple project could be finished. The Knights did build a new temple at the corner of Laurel and N streets years later, where the “Half Century Club” meets today.
The Lompoc Theatre opened on Friday, May 27, 1927. Important film producers such as the Universal Film Corporation and distributors attended the opening, so Lompoc was the center of statewide attention that night. Cecil B. DeMille sent the following message: “May your new theater have the success it so rightly deserves.”
Walter Calvert and William Baker now had a 10-year lease on the new theater for the movie and vaudeville portions of their enterprise.
The silent film theater opened with matinee and evening performances evenings and weekends at the price of 10 cents for kids and 25 cents for adults. Films were accompanied by Charles Poulson, a blind pianist, who was told what to play by a sighted assistant.
The first play given was The Dream Wife by the ladies’ Alpha Club. “Talkies” replaced silent films in 1929, so Poulson was out.
In 1929, the son of Walter, Earl Calvert, took over the management of the theater after graduating from U.C. Berkeley and marrying Anne Scolari.
The Lompoc Theater was the focal point for Lompoc through the depression and then for thousands of Army troops at Camp Cooke during World War II.
Earl sponsored the Mickey Mouse Club that kept the Lompoc kids busy on Saturday afternoons all during the 1930s. The theater was the site of the Youth Band, the “Dog Contest” and “Rubber Tire Drives” during the Second World War.
At some point unknown to history, Anne Calvert had the old “Land Office” building attached to the theater on the north side to expand the space for dressing rooms and storage.
The theater venues doubled in 1944 when Earl Calvert opened the La Mesa Theater on Ocean between I and J streets, where the farmer’s market is held today. Regular films were shown on all nights, and Hispanic films were shown one night a week.
Calvert purchased the Lompoc Theater from the Knights in 1948 after buying out William Baker’s share. The Red Pony and Take Me Out to the Ballgame were some of the top films booked then.
To better compete with the new television entertainment, in 1954, Earl Calvert had the Lompoc Theater completely redesigned, modernized, and refurbished.
A new enlarged Cinemascope screen was installed with a new sound system, new seats and carpeting, a new box office, and a new and enlarged lobby. The gala opening of the new theater was on Christmas Day, 1954, after being closed for only 12 days. At this time the marquee was changed to the present wedge shape. The first movie was Cattle Queen of Montana with Ronald Reagan and Barbara Stanwyck.
The theater building always had renters. The Lompoc police station and jail, a clothing store, law offices, real estate, and Safeway stores were a few.
The Lompoc movie business took a big hit on June 27, 1956, when the La Mesa Theater burned to the ground.
However, this loss was mitigated by the opening of the Valley Drive-in Theater in August 1959 by Earl Calvert on his ranch land in the county. The new drive-in was built for 850 cars, with a 50-by-100-foot Cinemascope screen, lounge, snack bar, and playground, all at a cost of $350,000. This theater operated until about 1998 and today sits empty and derelict.
In the meantime, the Calverts founded the Community Concert Association. The yearly programs were held in the Lompoc Theater, which became the de facto Lompoc Performing Arts Center.
Again, the Lompoc Theater took a hit, when, in 1975—due to poor attendance, fewer family movies, and rising film rental costs—the Calverts decided to close the Lompoc Theater.
After being closed for about 11 years, there was a new burst of energy to reopen the theater on May 8, 1987, for the 60th anniversary of the theater. After a gala opening, the films Radio Days and Children of a Lesser God were screened.
The efforts by Dennis Headrick and Tim Loncarich were not lasting, and the theater closed again except for the Concert Association, which had its last presentation in about 1999.
Earl Calvert, the owner of the entertainment venues in Lompoc and sponsor of so many local artistic events, passed away in 1997.
In July 2003, the Lompoc Housing and Community Development Corporation announced its plans to restore the theater. However, after expending $1.2 million in public funds, it cancelled plans in 2008. Nothing was done to improve or modernize the theater. The city of Lompoc is now attempting to become the owner of the theater.
The logical future for this venerable old Lompoc structure with so many memories for the community, is to become the City’s own Performing Arts Center.
Justin Ruhge lives in Lompoc. Send comments to the executive editor at rmiller@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 22-29, 2012.