Last call for community’s beloved Stage Door




SIGN OF THE TIMES—Unable to keep the old theater from demolition, the city was able to save the iconic red “Agoura” city entry sign that stood on the property for many years. Courtesy of R. Reisbord

SIGN OF THE TIMES—Although it was unable to save the old theater from demolition, the city did manage to preserve the iconic red “Agoura” city entry sign that stood on the property for many years. Courtesy of R. Reisbord

With age comes the inevitable deconstruction of the past.

In March 2022, the final curtain fell on a storied piece of local live-theater history as crews demolished the home of the former Stage Door Theatre in Agoura Hills.

The single-story structure at Agoura and Lewis roads, built in the 1920s as Fitzgerald’s Market, served as part of the gateway to the Paramount Ranch and its Western Town film set. It was around this time that the community was known as Picture City.

BEFORE AND AFTER—Above, the Stage Door Theater before it was demolished (Courtesy Google Maps), and below, the vacant lot where the almost 100-year-old structure once stood. (Acorn file photo)

 

More recently, the building was home to Gale Trumbeaux’s Stage Door Theater, a community playhouse that opened in 1980 and kept going until the lease ran out in 2008. It sat approximately 50 people.

The building largely remained vacant in recent years. Attempts to designate it as having historical significance failed, and the 1,800-square-foot building was taken down.

Susan Mogan, who’s lived in the community for the past three decades, said ties to the past are slowly slipping away, a general fear among residents.

“It sent shock waves through our little area as to how fast it happened,” Mogan said. “It would have been nice to have some notice.”

Residents assumed the city tore it down, but officials explained what happened in a statement.

“The theater along with other buildings in Agoura Hills go through a process, known as a Historic Resources Assessment, that guides our decision making on whether or not a building should be preserved,” the statement reads.

“This process sets up exhaustive state and federal measures that our team takes into account to determine if the property is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places and/or the California Register of Historical Resources.

SCENES FROM THE PAST—Gale Trumbeaux and husband Mike Monteleone operated the Stage Door Theater from 1980 to 2008. The 50-seat theater was a home for many talented performers, such as the youth improv group that took to the stage below.    Acorn file photos

In the case of the Stage Door, it did not meet these criteria,” the statement said.

Earlier, the city had managed to save the red “Agoura” sign at the corner of the property (pictured).

Trumbeaux told The Acorn the site was long ago also home to a gas station.

“There are gas tanks in the ground in the front of that building,” she said. “That’s real important to whatever they want to do with that property.”

City officials wanted to assure residents that they know the community “is built on a unique blend of history, rural roots, natural beauty and small-town charm.”

And while it’s hard to see a building like this demolished, the city has rigorous standards guiding building and development policies, the city said.

The loss of historic sites is sometimes impossible to prevent. Western Town, for example, was destroyed by the Woolsey fire in 2018.

Mogan wants to see more done to ensure that ties to the past aren’t totally severed.

“These properties were the gateway to Paramount Ranch. This was Picture City,” she said. “Within two days it was totally leveled.”

Lopez said the city council might plan to discuss implementation of a local historic registry “for the landmarks that mean so much to the community.”

“A local ordinance would not hold the same protections as state and federal laws,” she said, “but it would show property owners what we in Agoura Hills hold dear to our hearts.”

Terry Ahern, president of the Indian Hills Homeowners Association, told The Acorn he wants more stringent action taken.

“For 80 years the building, regardless of the frontage, was part of the most valued scenic experience while traveling through Agoura,” Ahern said.

“I am asking my neighbors, all Indian Hills homeowners, and homeowners associations to support an immediate freeze on any building on this site until a public hearing and public feedback is heard, to ensure the same scenic feel remains in the most valued scenic experience while traveling through Agoura.”