DeVille Theater

The DeVille was originally The Clark, which opened in 1926, during the silent movie era. It closed nearly 30 years ago, a victim of time and the era of multiplexes, then housed a church for a time. The church congregation moved out of the building and it sat empty for years before Johnson assumed ownership.

Rechristened the DeVille, it opened to much fanfare to a select group of local residents, business people and elected officials, with political comedian Will Durst serving as event emcee at the private gathering. Antsy McClain & The Trailer Park Troubadours, a Nashville-based Americana band with a wry sense of humor reflected in its song list, served as the evening’s entertainment. Several of those who attended that night predicted that the dazzlingly new theater — the stage highlighted by a restored, shiny proscenium and a red curtain, its overall interior color scheme a sophisticated Art Deco-inspired black and gray — would transform downtown Vacaville.