[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 198 (Tuesday, December 20, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1320-E1321]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RECOGNIZING THE TEMPLE THEATRE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. DAVID G. VALADAO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 20, 2022

  Mr. VALADAO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 100th 
anniversary of the Temple Theater in Hanford, California.
  Built in 1922, the Temple Theater was originally constructed for 
$3,500 with the intent to serve as a school for the Chinese community 
in Hanford. Know originally as the Chinese Center for Knowledge, local 
children from Hanford's Chinese district would attend additional 
schooling here to learn about Chinese history, language. and culture. 
The school would exist from 1922 until the late 1940s.
  In 1963, Audrey Leibold and other members of the community formed the 
Kings Players--

[[Page E1321]]

an organization dedicated to promoting community theater in the Central 
Valley. The only issue was that at that time, Hanford did not have any 
community theaters that could serve as permanent theater locations. 
With the temple that housed the Chinese Center for Knowledge now vacant 
for over a decade, The Kings Players decided to purchase the building 
and turned it into the Temple Theater--which has served as the group's 
permanent home ever since.
  Whether it be as a school for our local Chinese community or a 
theatre to promote local art, the building now known as the Temple 
Theatre has been an integral part of the Hanford community for a 
hundred years. Today, The Kings Players offer four shows each year at 
the theatre, bringing the Valley community together through the arts.
  I ask all of my colleagues in the United States House of 
Representatives to join me in celebrating the centennial anniversary of 
Hanford's Temple Theatre.

                          ____________________