295 S D St., Perris, Ca.

Welcome to the Perris Theater!

History:

In 1946, Tom Sharp built the art deco theater adjacent to the south of the late 1930's open-air theater. The theatre was first designed in an art deco style, which favors symmetry, bright colors, and neon lighting. The style was popular in the United States from the 1920s through the 1930s.

The Perris Church of Christ owned the theater for several years as a place to congregate. The city bought the building from a local church and has spent over $75,000 on exterior renovations. 

The renovation included changing the building's name to "The Perris", spelled out in neon lights. At one point, residents referred to the theater as "The Chief," because of the film Calendar Girl (1993), shot there in the early 1990s. The film crew changed the name of the theater to 'The Chief' for the movie.

City officials decided to buy and restore the 400-seat theater because it remains a great historic resource in downtown. Today, the theater stays closed due to its poor infrastructure, but it proudly stands as a historical landmark on Downtown D Street.