After being closed for nearly 20 years, the historic North Park Theatre has officially reopened, welcoming a new era of arts and entertainment into a growing neighborhood.

San Diego’s acting mayor, Toni Atkins, joined a long list of supporters and donors at a public ceremony last Friday to officially dedicate the newly renovated Stephen and Mary Birch North Park Theatre, located on the corner of University Avenue and 29th Street.

“I don’t think I am exaggerating to say that this theater will be the most important catalyst for the revitalization of North Park that has happened in our time,” said Atkins. “This will be the heart of the North Park arts, culture and entertainment district, which grows more vibrant every day.”

Built in 1928, the North Park Theatre brought the first “talkies” to San Diego, and was one of the most profitable theaters in the Fox West Coast movie theater chain. The city of San Diego bought the theater in the mid-1980s to preserve the historical building, yet the funds needed to renovate the theater kept its doors closed. Then, two years ago, developer Bud Fisher took on the project and has restored the facility back to a working theater.

The Lyric Opera San Diego becomes the managing tenant and opens its inaugural season there with The Mikado on Oct. 14. Ten other arts organizations have already committed to performing at the theater during its first season, including the La Jolla Music Society, City Ballet of San Diego, San Diego Dance Alliance and the San Diego Cinema Society.

“After a long and challenging – yet exciting – process, it is remarkable to finally stand on this stage and perform the ceremony that marks the rebirth of this theater as a performance venue,” said Lyric Opera San Diego general director Leon Natker. “It was once the beating heart of a vibrant community, and we fully intend it to be that way again. It’s a huge accomplishment for our company, but also for the community and the city as a whole.”

“I think the theater is going to bring a lot of people to North Park that have never visited our neighborhood,” said Jeannie Tidy, executive director of North Park Main Street, the community’s business improvement district agency. “I don’t think it’s just the theater, but a combination of things. People can look around, see our wonderful restaurants, see our art, see we have Ray at Night, see we have a wonderful farmers’ market, see we’ve got a lot of great things in this neighborhood that are happening. The theater will enhance what we already have in the community.”

In addition to the Lyric Opera, the San Diego Men’s Chorus (SDMC) has made the North Park Theatre their home. The opera and the chorus are the only full-time tenants in the theater.

“Our move into the North Park Theatre will promote SDMC to a higher level of production and creativity. It will also provide the public with a consistent venue in which to see the chorus’ productions,” said Jamie Royak, president of SDMC’s board of directors. The chorus’ first concert is Dec. 10.

The North Park Theatre includes a three-story fly-loft and an orchestra pit to accommodate live theater productions. Designed and built before the arrival of amplified sound, the theater has excellent acoustics for orchestral music and for speaking and singing in a natural, non-amplified voice. A portion of the lobby, staircases, the stage surface and the stage rigging system were rehabilitated. Everything else in the theater was restored and renovated as near as possible to the original style.

The renovation project also includes 4,000 square feet of retail space now leased to Starbucks and restaurateur David Witt of Fifth & Hawthorn. The restaurant will open in early 2006.

“I’m going to keep the same menu but change the name,” said Witt. “We’re going to call it Hawthorn’s.” Witt said he will close Fifth & Hawthorn, which has been on the corner of Fifth and Hawthorne for 18 years, the day after he opens Hawthorn’s. “It’s going to be the same restaurant, just in a new location,” he said.

Hawthorn’s will also serve as the concessionaire for the North Park Theatre, with its bar open to both the restaurant as well as the theater lobby.

In addition to the newly renovated theater, a 400-space parking garage is being built by the city of San Diego at the corner of 29th and North Park Way, diagonally across from the theater, and is scheduled to be complete by the end of the year. A plan to transform the current parking lot behind the theater into a community park is also in the works.