Guadalupe Breaks Ground on Redevelopment of Historic Royal Theatre Into Community Arts Center

The City of Guadalupe began work to convert and revitalize the historic Royal Theatre into a community performing arts center. 

The groundbreaking event for the conversion project was held on December 1, 2025, at the theater. 

The adaptive reuse project is funded through a combination of multi-million-dollar grants, city funds, and a capital campaign, according to the City. 

The City has secured $10.5 million for the revitalization, of which the Economic Development Administration (EDA) granted $4.8 million, the California Arts Council contributed $5 million, and the City of Guadalupe contributed $600,000, according to the project details.  

The red-tagged theater had been lying unused since 1991 due to an electrical fire. In 2021, the City hired Andrew Goodwin Designs as the design team to convert the theater into a community performing arts center, the City said. 

Pre Con Industries has been awarded the $9.78 million construction contract, according to the City.

The City owns the Royal Theatre as well as two adjacent properties, which have been merged into a single lot. The historic building will be revitalized as per the California Historic Code. A one-story building will be converted to transform the theater into a performing arts center. 

The revamped site will also feature a plaza and an amphitheater, according to the City. 

In 2022, the City secured $4.88 million from the EDA for the renovation. Although the City had applied for $10 million (the maximum grant amount at the time of the application), the maximum amount was capped at $5 million due to the number of applications. 

The City then contacted State Senator Monique Limón, who helped secure an additional $5 million in state funds after passing through the California Arts Council. 

“In 2022, it was my honor to champion funding for this project to help bring the arts and economic momentum back to the downtown area,” Limón wrote in a social media post on December 1, 2025. 

She attended the groundbreaking ceremony and shared images on Instagram. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Monique Limón (@moniquelimonca)

A Landmark Building in Guadalupe

The Royal Theatre is one of the most significant and historic landmarks in Guadalupe. 

Located in the former Japanese enclave at the southern end of the city’s business district, the two-story theater features an Art Moderne Style with Art Deco elements. 

Initially owned by Japanese immigrant Arthur Shogo Fukuda, it was the city’s only theater when it opened in August 1940, according to the National Park Service. The theater would screen Japanese and feature films, catering to the then thriving Japanese immigrant community. 

Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, President Roosevelt issued an order leading to the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese American residents. In 1942, Fukuda was forced to sell the building in 1942 before he and his wife were interred at a relocation center in Arkansas. 

Following World War II, Mexican and Spanish immigrants began reshaping Guadalupe. The theater was renamed Cine Royal and began screening Spanish movies for the predominantly Latino population. By the mid-1960s, the theater screened technicolor movies and cartoons.

In the mid-1990s, the theater was renamed as Royal Theater following fresh paint and the addition of a new neon sign on the marquee. 

One of Guadalupe’s historic buildings, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.