Tensions Flare at Tower Theatre Protest as Sale Dispute Heads Back to Court
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Tensions mounted Sunday at the recurring weekly protest at the Tower Theatre over the sale of the iconic Fresno venue.
Police stepped in to warn opposing sides to simmer things down.
Contrasting the music, colorful signs and dancing were opposing groups of agitators. Confrontations erupted, with face-offs escalating to exchanges of harsh words before police intervened.
The protests, now in their third month, have been largely peaceful. Supporters of the theater are opposed to Adventure Church’s purchase of the building and its use for religious services.
FRESNO
At first, few in the neighborhood paid attention to the churchgoers filing into the Tower Theatre on Sunday mornings.
It was pre-pandemic and just another audience at the historic Art Deco theater with its neon orb atop an 80-foot tower. But as Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater across the street went dark, the gay bar silent and the Tower District’s lively sidewalks emptied, the devout continued to meet for months, drawing local ire.
In January it became public that Adventure Church was buying the theater, the neighborhood’s namesake and economic anchor.
“That’s when things went wackydoodle,” said Heather Parrish, co-director of the Rogue, an annual fringe arts festival and one of the organizers of an effort to stop the sale. “This is the historic center of progressive bohemia in Fresno. An evangelical church operating in the heart of it strikes at the culture we’ve built for decades.”
Locals Protest Rush Limbaugh Tribute on Historic Gay-Friendly Theater February 19 2021 2:59 PM EST
A historically queer-friendly Fresno theater and the conservative church trying to buy it are under fire after a tribute to recently dead hatemonger Rush Limbaugh was posted on the marquee this week.
“Thank you Rush for teaching us,” the marquee on the theater read, “You will be missed very much. But never forgotten. R.I.P.” This message drew ire from locals who remember Limbaugh mainly as a hateful man who mocked gay and trans people and celebrated the deaths of those who died from AIDS.
“Don’t talk to me about how welcoming Adventure Church is to the LGBTQ community when they allow (place?) this up on the marquee next to their church name,” Fresno local Heather Parish tweeted, “The man mocked gay deaths during the AIDS crisis. Thanks for saying the quiet part out loud, ACC.”
City threatens Tower Theatre over church usage and violations, but could Fresno buy it?
KFSN
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FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) A tall marquee has marked the creative center of Fresno for decades. The Tower District is a very unique, historical area, said the district s city council member, Esmeralda Soria. It s iconic.
But the original icon has riled up some of the district s devotees.
Since word got out that Adventure Church planned to buy the theater, the topic has dominated discussion for Council Member Esmeralda Soria. It s probably been in the hundreds emails, texts, direct calls, direct messages through social media just expressing their concerns about what this change would mean to the Tower District as a whole, she said. There are different restrictions about what kind of uses and businesses can come into that economic corridor.