ABOUT US
Arena Theater is a 1928-vintage vaudeville theater and film palace, restored in 1996 to an Art Deco style, state-of-the-art entertainment venue with generous support from local artisans and financial donations.
Arena Theater Association is an all-volunteer community, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that maintains Arena Theater and brings live performances and artists to the stage of this Mendocino Coast venue.
Situated on Highway One in downtown Point Arena, California’s smallest city, Arena Theater operates every day of the year. The anchor of the theater is the Arena Cinema, which shows first run movies.
Support Performance Art on the Mendocino Coast! Your support through financial donations to Arena Theater Association continues to make Arena Theater possible. Because we depend on volunteers, 100% of your donation goes to building maintenance and improvement or to performance underwriting. Memberships are available starting at $30 per year and include discounts on live shows and other benefits.
If you would like to be one of Arena Theater Association volunteers, let us know. We need folks to help with artwork, advertising and maintenance, taking tickets, ushering, and engineering for sound and light. Apprenticeships are available. Email us at info@arenatheater.org or write to P. O. Box 611, Point Arena, CA 95468 for more information.
Furthermore, The Arena Theater is available for rentals and other private events. Click here for information on rentals and for other private events.
History
Built next to the burned remains of Scott’s Opera House, Arena Theater opened in 1929 as a vaudeville playhouse. In 1930 it was equipped for showing motion pictures, however after many years of service to the community, in 1995 it was condemned for structural shortcomings. The non-profit community group, Arena Renaissance Company, rallied to the cause of earth-quake retrofitting by rewiring and otherwise restoring all aspects of the building to modern standards. In 1997, through the tremendous fund raising efforts and coordination by ARC, our community of builders, organizers, artists, generous financial contributors, and volunteer workers of all skill levels, rebuilt the theater into the extraordinary gem it is today.
Mounted on a hardwood floor Arena Theater has 177 fully upholstered and comfy built-in seats with arm rests. With the addition of portable folding seats it can seat 250 people. The first two rows of seats can be removed to enlarge the dance floor as needed.
