Amid protests and litigation, Fresno’s Tower Theatre opening gift shop for one-day sale

The Tower Theatre will reopen on Friday, for a few hours at least.

In an email sent this week, the historic venue in Fresno announced it’s hosting a one-day memorabilia sale from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“The last 13 months have been the hardest in our 80 years! We’ve had to shut our doors since the start of COVID-19, March 12, 2020. Venues were the first to close and the will be the last to reopen,” the email reads, adding that 80% of independent venues are not going to reopen following the pandemic.

“Shopping at our one day gift shop sale would be a great way to support us.

“We feel extremely fortunate to be able to welcome our customers back for a shopping day.”

The theater will be selling all manner of branded merchandise, from 80th anniversary T-shirts to mugs and beer steins, even a silver charm necklace with the theater’s iconic spire (only 10 of the necklaces were made).

Of interest to collectors is the theater’s inventory of guitars, signed by visiting performers — everyone from Kris Kristofferson and Stanley Jordan to Yngwie Malmsteen, Dave Mason, Graham Nash and Shania Twain.

“Own a piece of Fresno music history.”

This is the first inkling that the theater may be planning a return to business in some capacity, following news of its sale to an area church in January. What’s followed has been months of debate and litigation about city code and zoning laws for the district as it pertains to appropriate and legal usage of venue.

Weekly protests over the sale have intensified recently, and now include a contingent from far-right group the Proud Boys.

While the sale had been halted several times in court, the owner is now taking the theater off the market, according to a filing with the Fifth District Court of Appeal last week. Any plans for the venue or adjacent property remain unclear.

Messages to the theater’s owner were not returned.

This story was originally published April 14, 2021 at 1:00 PM.