Restoring Vallejo's Bay Terrace Theatre

VALLEJO (CBS 5) ― Even in the fog and rain, the Bay Area Terrace theater represents sunshine and hope for many who live here in the Bay Terrace and Vallejo Heights neighborhoods of Vallejo.

"I think it's raised the spirit!" exclaims building manager Jeff Charles.

There's a big difference in this theater since David Cates launched a community clean-up.

"There was was a group of people who wanted to see it transformed into something beautiful," David explains.

The theater, first built in 1918 as a grammar school for Mare Island workers, has been home to the MIRA Theatre Guild for the last few decades.

Volunteers say it's the oldest community theater group on the West Coast, chartered in 1947. Audiences still come to see three to four productions a year.

But without enough money for repairs, the 164-seat theater has deteriorated.

"This is a dynamic space. It needs to be saved," says neighbor Monica Tipton.

Monica joined the volunteer group David co-founded in December 2007, called the MIRA-cle Workers. Two dozen of them tackled rooms and hallways that were blocked with mountains of clothes and props, spending every Saturday of the last year cleaning up.

"The inside was basically trashed," David remembers. "It looks much better now."

The city of Vallejo waived $16,000 in violations as the MIRAcle workers made repairs to bring the building up to code.

David says, "We actually started poking on the building with a screwdriver. The stucco came apart in liquid form, like a sand form."

Volunteers say revitalizing the Bay Terrace Theatre has sparked community pride at a time when their city's enduring the pain of bankruptcy.

"It's a big visual sign that things are not falling apart around here, they're getting better," adds Jeff.

If Act One was painting and stucco repairs... then Act Two is a new roof. David and his MIRAcle Workers are trying to raise $100,000 to replace the sagging roof.

Their long-term dream is to use the theater building as a community center but only on one condition: "It has to be fun and effective, so we call it 'funective,'" David says with a laugh. "And that's our commitment to each other."

So, for his leadership in restoring Vallejo's Bay Terrace Theater, this week's Jefferson Award in the Bay Area goes to David Cates.

By Sharon Chin

For more information, use the web link on the upper right, or write to:
P.O. Box 6154
Vallejo, CA 94591
Or call: 707-552-0400

Related Link:

* MIRA Theatre Guild

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