The Colonial Theatre
One of the oldest buildings in Willits, this double-arched brick structure was built in 1913, but the site had already undergone multiple changes by then.
In the early 1860s the Little Lake Hotel stood here, one of few businesses on Main Street back then. Around 1883, owner Frank Davis sold the hotel to Anna Longland.
Left: Colonial Theatre June, 1914. Photo by H.H. Wonacott, Parkins Collection, Mendocino County Museum.
The devastating 1901 fire destroyed the Little Lake Hotel. Anna Longland sold part of her property to Z.E. Buckner who built the luxurious and fire-safe brick Buckner Hotel. But the building was not safe from the 1906 earthquake! The collapse of the brick façade of the Buckner Hotel killed the manager, C.L. Taylor.
The building was salvaged by contractor Theodore Schieve. Originally called the Schieve Block, the 1913 building held the new post office and the Colonial Theater, the second motion picture theater in town, along with the Majestic Theater across the street. Thoroughly modern for the time, the Colonial had 400 seats with a sloping floor and a hot air furnace. Served by the nationwide Mutual Film Co., Willits could see the same shows as San Franciscans were viewing on their Market Street.
Right: Framed Photograph of the Hotel Buckner before the earthquake and note stamped by Irvine and Muir dated 1906. Dusty Whitney Collection, Mendocino County Museum.
In another decade the popularity of the Colonial drove the Majestic Theater out of business. The owners of the Colonial bought out the Majestic and renamed this building the Majestic, though the tile entryway still claims it as the Colonial.
Willits old-timers remembered it as the Majestic. Edie Ceccarelli reminisced in 2016: “I sang at the Majestic. I sure did! When they had an intermission, I sang solo with the piano, the popular songs. Oh, I loved to sing, and I did have a very pretty voice, yes, I did. Mama was so proud of me, being able to sing for the public.”
Also sharing the building was the Moose Lodge, whose hall and club rooms were in the rear, along with a banquet room, kitchen, and pantry on the second floor. Offices and lodging shared the rest of the second floor.
Since those majestic days, the site has housed a hotel on the second floor, as well as Sears, Coast to Coast, Radio Shack, Penny’s, Val’s Meat Market, and the Natural Choice clothing store, among other businesses.
Today the building proudly stands as one of the wonders of Willits.
Right: Contemporary photo of Colonial Theatre Building, courtesy of Judi Berdis.
Created in collaboration with Kim Bancroft and Judi Berdis and based the 2016 Mendocino County Museum exhibit "Main Street Willits: Then and Now. "Text prepared by Kim Bancroft and select photos prepared by Judi Berdis. We are grateful for their ongoing efforts to preserve our local history.
Special thanks to Kiersten Hanna for project support and assistance.