The Padua Hills Theatre was built in 1930 by an investment syndicate under the direction of Herman H. Garner as part of the Padua Hills real estate development in the foothills above Claremont, California. Envisioned as a colony for local artists, the development included an arts and crafts shop, performing arts center, and 300-seat theatre facility that also housed a dining room, a kitchen, and an exhibition room where craft items could be displayed and sold. The theatre was home to the Claremont Community Players until 1933, when the pressures of the Depression undermined the performers’ ability to produce professional plays and local patrons’ ability to pay for them. Some of the Mexican employees serving as waitresses, waiters, gardeners, and cooks at Padua Hills also sang in the dining room during pre-production dinners for the Claremont Community Players’ plays. These employees began to mount stage performances in 1931-1932 as the Mexican Players, while continuing to serve meals prior to their own performances. The plays were primarily written by Charles Dickinson and portrayed stories that took place in a romanticized, pastoral past in Mexico or Mexican California. Herman Garner’s wife, Bess, also provided a guiding hand in the productions, bringing back folktales, songs, dances, and costumes from her travels in Mexico. The Garners incorporated the nonprofit Padua Institute in 1935, with the aim of fostering intercultural understanding and providing community services as well as educational and theatrical opportunities for the young Mexican men and women at Padua Hills. The Mexican Players produced seven to nine productions per season until disbanding in 1974. A restoration project was completed at the theatre in 2009, and the main dining hall and grounds are currently used as a location for weddings and special events.

Garcia, Matt. (Fall 1995). “’Just Put on That Padua Hills Smile’: The Mexican Players and the Padua Hills Theatre, 1931-1974.” California History 74 (3): 244–261. doi:10.2307/25177509.

Krickl, Tony. “Community Celebrates Padua Hills Theater.” Claremont Courier, June 17, 2009.