The El Rey theater was built in 1905 and served as a vaudeville theater in Chico’s early days. (Vaudeville theater was popular in the early 20th century, featuring a mixture of specialty acts such as burlesque comedy and song and dance). The El Rey served as a first-run movie theater until 2005, but was then closed for awhile. It now serves as a venue for showing cult and classic films, and for live music. The ‘Keep Chico Weird’ event advertised on the board was a local talent show.
