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Steel scaffolding looms in the Fox Theater in Watsonville on Wednesday where crews have begun work on the first phase of renovation. (Kevin Johnson -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)

A worker ascends the scaffolding inside the Fox Theater in Watsonville on Wednesday afternoon as the building undergoes the first phase of renovation. (Kevin Johnson -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)

The Fox Theater in Watsonville was draped in shadows on Wednesday afternoon as a construction crew began the first phase of renovation inside the building. (Kevin Johnson -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)

WATSONVILLE >> In April 1972, Hank Garcia opened his newly renovated Fox Theater with a screening of the biblical epic “The Ten Commandments.”

Forty-three years later, Watsonville Film Festival director and co-founder Consuelo Alba hopes to lead the historic theater back out of the desert of disuse much like Charlton Heston’s Moses led his people from a literal desert in Cecil B. DeMille’s classic film.

Tuesday, Alba and Garcia stood in the aisle of the darkened theater with Jesse Nickell of Barry Swenson Builder and watched as a worker scaled 30-feet of scaffolding to inspect the chandelier and its rosette overhead. The rosette is a decorative overlay made from hydrocal, or gypsum cement, which is used to cover the chandelier’s seam.

“When we founded the Watsonville Film Festival, our dream was for it to be here,” said Alba. “We tried to pursue it in 2013, but the time was not right. With Hank Garcia’s support, we are shooting to hold this year’s festival here in September.”

The Fox, originally called The California, was once one of the premier theaters in Santa Cruz County. Built in 1923, the Spanish Colonial Revival style building hosted both films and live theater in its 1,000-seat auditorium.

Garcia closed the Fox in 2009, citing the financial effects of the recession and downtown Watsonville’s ongoing struggles to attract business. He cites the energy, drive and commitment of Alba and Watsonville Film Festival co-founder John Speyer, as well as the generosity of Barry Swenson Builder and All American Scaffold of Fremont, which donated labor and materials for the first phase of the renovation, as principal factors in his decision to make another go with the Fox.

However, the first step toward realizing this goal was up the daunting scaffolding.

“We are starting with the chandelier and rosette because they were the most pressing concerns due to some water damage,” said Nickell.

Nickell estimated the repairs to the chandelier and rosette will cost $6,000 and take until Friday or, at the very latest, early next week. In general, he is optimistic about the current state of the Fox, calling it “a lot less work” than the renovation of the Del Mar Theatre in downtown Santa Cruz, which he worked on in 2002.

“The building is in perfect condition,” he said.

Despite Nickell’s optimistic analysis, Alba said the renovation effort still needs to raise approximately $300,000 to get the Fox ready in time for the Watsonville Film Festival, which is slated to run from Sept. 28 to Oct. 2.

“Everybody has been coming together to see this dream become a reality, including the city,” Alba said.

City Manager Charles Montoya was on hand Tuesday to witness the first steps in the Fox’s most recent resurrection.

“I think this project would be a huge step in our efforts as a city to get more people back downtown,” Montoya said. “We have to create unique experiences like this to revitalize the area.”

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