ARTS CENTER CELEBRATES ITS FIRST 10 YEARS BACKERS HOPE FOR LONG FUTURE, BIG ENDOWMENT.

Byline: Eric Leach Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY - A decade ago, this city opened its first cultural arts venue in a 1925 Methodist church that some say was haunted, hoping to bring theater and music to town and provide an outlet for local talent.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary last month, the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center is the main spot in town for the dramatic arts, and local leaders say they're happy with its first decade.

``I think that what has gone on there is wonderful,'' said City Council member Barbra Williamson, who has been active in raising funds for the center. ``The attendance is going up, and people are using it not only to see plays but for weddings and other events in the community.''

The center at Los Angeles Avenue and Church Street is used by tens of thousands of people a year, including children who go there regularly for entertainment and to get a start in the performing arts.

In 1991, the city decided to spend $3.7 million to buy and renovate a massive Greco-Roman-style historical landmark in the center of the valley and turn it into an arts center, rather than spend $35 million to build one from scratch.

In its 10 years, it has hosted more than 400,000 guests and now has an annual attendance of just below 50,000, serving as a catalyst to promote arts of all kinds, said David Ralphe, an actor and general manager of the center.

``It's working on a high level now artistically,'' he said. ``Audiences are continuing to grow. People are coming from Los Angeles and Santa Barbara to attend the productions.''

Although community leaders had been discussing plans for a Simi Valley cultural center for many years, former Mayor Bill Davis credits his wife, Ginni, for planting the church building idea. He and other city officials checked it out, and the ball got rolling from there.

``Every time I go there, I get a good feeling,'' Davis said. ``It's a wonderful place for people to enjoy, and we were able to save a historical building at the same time. It's better than we anticipated 10 years ago.''

Davis said he attends five or six events each year at the center, where the main theater has about 220 seats. He has pictures of himself there with Oscar-winning actress Shirley Jones and entertainer Rita Moreno, who performed in the center's opening shows in November 1995.

Ralphe said when it first opened, some thought the old building, often referred to as Gothic, was haunted.

``Strange things would happen in there,'' he said. ``The piano tuner's case kept falling off the piano. The lights would go out and come back on.''

The city even brought in a psychic. Conclusion: no ghosts.

Attorney Robert Huber, a former Simi Valley City Council member, operated a mortuary and lived there. He never considered it haunted.

``It is a community landmark, and the leadership of the city did an excellent job in keeping the character of the building,'' he said. ``I'm very pleased as a longtime resident of Simi Valley.

Last month, an anniversary celebration was held after a farewell performance of ``Songs From the the Tall Grass,'' a musical based on tunes of American settlers, adapted by Randy Hale.

Various artists drew chalk posters of the productions on the walkway to the box office, and the church pews were replaced by padded seats from the now-defunct Mann Theater.

This year, the center formed a children's theater company with adults who perform specifically for children ages 7 to 12.

But Williamson and others said they wish more children would get involved, which would help make up for cutbacks in funding for music and drama programs in schools.

Peggy Sadler, a member and past president of the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center Foundation, said that while she appreciates the center, she's hoping for a larger venue down the road.

``I've always wanted to see a large performing arts center here,'' she said. ``I'm sure it will happen some day, but this is really an asset for our community.''

The foundation contributes about $25,000 a year to the center and has built up an endowment of more than $200,000, but would like to have 10 times that much, Sadler said.

By comparison, the Alliance for the Arts, which helps support the Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks, has an endowment fund of about $4 million and contributes $250,000 annually to support the two Civic Arts Plaza theaters. The Alliance also provides hundreds of thousands of dollars more in grants to groups that perform there.

Bruce Buchanan, a former assistant to the publisher at the former Simi Valley Enterprise newspaper, said he and others were active in the early 1980s in support of an arts center before he moved out of state.

``I'm delighted that the center is now celebrating its 10th anniversary,'' he said. ``My only disappointment is that it's not 20 years.''

Eric Leach, [phone]

eric.leach(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Christian West studies some of the celebrity autographs in a room in the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center.

(2) The old church pews originally in the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center have been replaced by theater seats. The center recently marked a decade of events in the old building.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News