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National Register visit 267: Padua Hills Theatre 📍4467 Padua Avenue, Claremont

This little theatre in the foothills north of Claremont has one of those stories that reveals more and more layers, the more you dig into it. The Padua Hills Theatre is so many things:

💃 A unique space where Mexican culture was shared, by Mexican performers, for largely white audiences
💃 A direct link to the story of Claremont’s development as a center of the arts & culture
💃 A window into the complicated race relations of 1930s Los Angeles
💃 A training ground for a generation of Latino film, TV and stage stars
💃 A top-tier example of Spanish colonial architecture, by the great Pasadena firm of Sylvanus Marston & Edgar Maybury
💃 The easternmost LA County landmark on the National Register of Historic Places
💃 An idyllic natural environment for wandering (or getting married)

The fact that the Theatre’s Mexican Players, largely recruited from the segregated barrios of Claremont, could flourish for over 40 years is pretty remarkable on its own. But Padua Hills Theatre wasn’t just successful – it was important.

In the words of historian Matt Garcia, whose aunt Isabel Alba was a dancer here: “the Theatre’s existence was a running rebuttal to moments of xenophobia against Mexicans that bubbled up to the surface.”

If any of this motivates you to learn more, check out my TLDR writeup on EtanDoesLA.com: https://etandoesla.com/267-padua-hill...

There are some pretty amazing video clips there that you need to see.

PS: Shout out to my friends at Claremont Heritage for their invaluable assistance with this post, and to the folks at Padua Weddings & Entertainment Express for giving me the grand tour. Also thanks to Matt Garcia for his illuminating decades of research on this Theatre. He and his relative Jessica Alba are apparently working on a documentary about it!

PHOTO CREDITS:
📷 1-4 (Herman Garner, B&W landscape, dining room, Isabel Alba w/ musicians): Claremont Heritage
📷 5-7 (Mexican Players productions): LA Public Library
📷 8 (Miguel Vera & Hilda Ramirez dancing): LA Public Library
📷 9-11 (Bess Garner, Bess & Mexican Players): Claremont Heritage
📷 12-14 (man & woman at entryway, Travador Mexicano playbills): Honnold/Mudd Library
📷 15 (curtain w/ map of Mexico): Claremont Heritage
📷 16-17 (Mexican Players productions): LA Public Library

PPS: sorry for the pixelations in the video. Unbeknownst to me, my recording app inserted a watermark and the tool I used to remove it was only semi-successful.

PPPS: I’ve got an email list! Subscribe to find out when I write something new about something old: https://etandoesla.com/email-signup/

#mexicanamerican #theatre #claremont #paduahills #losangeleshistory #lahistory #mexicanhistory #theaterhistory #historictheatre #hispanicheritagemonth