“Available,” reads a blue and white sign perched outside Marysville’s historic Tower Theater.
For quite some time, its rounded face and blank marque have sat weathered and faded, but the bones of a once bustling downtown hotspot are still there.
This half-acre corner lot, bordered by First and D streets, has housed a number of theatrical companies over the past century. It started with the Marysville Theatre, built in 1907 and opening on Jan. 20, 1908, with the play “Woodland.” By the 1920s the building had been renamed Atkins Theatre and later changed to National Theatre before being destroyed by a fire in 1926. It was then replaced by the much larger Liberty Theatre, part of the National Theatre’s chain.
Extensive remodeling in the early 1940s led to the Tower Theater that stands today. The business reportedly thrived for several decades before closing in the 1980s.
The rest of the Tower’s history is a bit blurry. It supposedly housed an adult movie theater, a storefront church, and at one time a restaurant. But for the past several years, it has sat gutted and empty. At least that’s true for the front-facing foyer of this classic buildings’ D Street entrance. But the rest of its “L” shaped body wraps around to include over 17,000-square-feet of renovated office space.
During the early 2000s, the theater’s auditoriums were converted into two levels with eight upstairs and 15 downstairs units. Most are spacious enough to house multiple users and include several conference-style rooms and a large kitchenette. Private locking coded doors separate the bottom floor from the upstairs and near the center is an ambulatory elevator.
“I think it could be ideal for a corporation, government agency, or medical branch,” said Greg Quilty, a sales and leasing associate with Coldwell Banker Commercial.
Nordic Industries has been leasing the space for over a year now but have plans to return to their newly renovated building in Olivehurst sometime next month. With their exit fast approaching, a group of Chico-based investors are currently looking for new tenants, or ideally to sell the building in full.
Currently, the listing price is set at $1,950,000, which equates to approximately $109 per square foot. Staff at Nordic industries said they’ve enjoyed the building’s ample space and reliable high-speed internet. Yet plans for the gutted foyer are still a mystery.
“It’s been left bare because we don’t know what buyers will want to do with it yet,” said Quilty. “Renderings on the outside show visions for a possible coffee shop, or maybe a comedy venue. It’s pretty much a blank slate.”
In 2011, rumors circulated of a proposed museum being housed in the foyer, but these dreams never came to fruition. The front interior still boasts a dome-like structure, a curved entryway, and plenty of historic charm.
“It’s truly one of the best kept secrets for potential development in historic Marysville,” said Dan Flores, Marysville’s community development director, in a statement to the Appeal. “There is a great deal of momentum on D Street and downtown recently. Three buildings on the same street have sold very recently to developers who intend to open new businesses on the street including a medical spa, a restaurant, and an accounting firm. Some of these buildings will have residential development as well.
“There are multiple development projects going on throughout the city. The city is currently updating the parking requirements in the downtown area and we would ideally like to see more dining and residential usage in that area. Multiple developers are expressing interest in developing more existing property and we are encouraging them to work with us to that end. These are exciting times for Marysville as the momentum continues to pick up steam. We expect 2024 to be an exciting year in Marysville.”
For more information about the Tower Theater, contact Quilty at gquilty@cbcworldwide.com or call 530-632-8634. The building is located at 103 D St. in Marysville, across from the Silver Dollar Saloon and Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore.
