Hi Jeph,

We're opening a haunt this year in the old Sierra Vista Movie theater - Fright Night Scream Park - you should drop me a message offline - (559) 355-7740 or brandon@frightnightscreampark.com . We have a crew of about 50 volunteers on the Scream Team (for those with dark creativity) or if you have a haunt going at another location this year we would love to do some cross-promotion.

Thanks!
Brandon

Hi Jeph,

We're opening a haunt this year in the old Sierra Vista Movie theater - Fright Night Scream Park - you should drop me a message offline - (559) 355-7740 or brandon@frightnightscreampark.com . We have a crew of about 50 volunteers on the Scream Team (for those with dark creativity) or if you have a haunt going at another location this year we would love to do some cross-promotion.

Thanks!
Brandon

With the Tiki Room. I did my first open mic there. I do remember that place.

I can tell that you went to High School in the early 1990s since Java Cafe and Intermezzo was around in the early 1990s, but you forgot to mention the 'Beats Me' hang out that many people would visit but few would buy any of their drinks.

It's been only 7 years since the March 2001 Mardi Gras that caused a Riot when the police and tower marketing fenced in the area around the heart of the Tower, and tried to charge people to enter a public street. I new something like that was going to happen that's why I would not go to support that, paying to enter streets that the people own.

Do you remember the big fireworks show at the Tower Theater for the 2000 New Years?

If you want to do a spooky house you should look to Chinatown, it's still got that feel your talking about that the Tower Had, there are no Blockbusters or Starbucks in Fresno's Chinatown (not yet). You can find many empty places that would be make great Haunted House's or say Haunted Hotels, like the Nippon building at F and Kern St. or Komoto's Department Store and Asia Hotel at Kern and G Streets. I'm sure you could get them for a lot less than the Tower Theater, and if you want a Theater building you could try to rent the Azteca Theater.

Hello, My name is Jeph Neville, and I grew up in the Tower District.

When I was only Twelve years old my Parents bought me a skateboard and a bus pass. “Take adventures,” My loving Father told me. “See the City,” my Mother said. Now that I think about it, they were probably just trying to get rid of me, but it was not long after that I was making my way through Fresno with the greatest of ease. My first home away from home was the upscale Fashion Fair. I would walk around for hours until I would have to leave, or I would be walking for hours on home.
One day in my normal routine, I came across a young classy Lady that said “ Hey Dick Breath…You want to go to Tower with us.” I was at first hesitant, but I threw caution to the wind and said lets do it, later that night we didJ. I can remember the ride over there, in my Youthful Freedom days I never really past Shaw Ave on the bus. But now, now I was in a car headed to Tower. I had been there before, but only with my parents. I was maybe Eight years hold. I can remember some girl asking if I wanted to see her Breast, I told her yes! But my Father told me to stop talking to that Man.
When we first got there, I step outside of the rusted Buick, and smelled the air. It was different then the air by the mall. This air smelled like, roasting coffee from Java Café. Like Brewing Hops from Butterfields. Also like, well, urine from the man pissing next to me while asking me for 32 cents to get a fan belt. At this point I knew I was Home.
Days went by and all I would do was, get out of school and head down to Tower. Work at the Video Stores and head down to Tower. It was so great for me cause I had always grown up with people older then me, and all these people, except the many few, were all older then me. It helped groom me into not going through that, Stereotypical High School Kid-no one likes me syndrome. These people were smart, liked to party. But they always went to school the next day. I caught on and also started to go to school the next day. My only dilemma was….It wasn’t my school. It was there school. Fresno City College. I would actually ditch High School and show up at College(really I think I learned more ditching High School and going to College).
Finally I had my life together, I had a Best friend named Fish, a bald girlfriend named Jeri and a Friendship with a community that could not be broken. I had also got on Home Studies so I could go to Fresno City all the time.
Days had started to turn into years and slowly Tower started to change. Instead of people renting movies from The Movies, they had Blockbuster, Instead of enjoying a cup of Coffee at Java or Intermezzo, they had Starbucks. In the late 90’s, the worst of the worst. I was working at the old Java Café that had now turned into Laura’s. It was Mardi Gras and like every year they had blocked off the streets, so people can walk freely through The Tower enjoying one another’s company. The Fresno Police force always had had their hands full with this day, but this time it was bad. A couple of stabbings in the Tower Theatre parking lot had made the cops anxious to shut it down.
Instead of re-opening the streets and slowly building up to normal. They all got into full on riot gear and stormed in. This obviously agitated people enough that a riot broke out. The aftermath was something out of a movie. Windows broken, stores that had been there for years without conflict were saddened by the out come. Mardi Gras has not been the same. Tower has not been the same.
The only thing that could of saved Tower was Eight Months away. Halloween…The only other time that they would block the streets and people would come down and let loose. Those were the longest eight months I can remember. When the day came. It was a blast. People were dressed up walking around with out a care. The one difference from this year as opposed to every year, the Fresno Police Forced was just itching to take people in. I mean you couldn’t look at a cop without having him stare at you. You felt as if there were more cops then people.
For Ten years now it has been like that. Now you can only walk one way down the sidewalk and if you step into the street a cop asks you to get back on the sidewalk. They have completely taking the fun out of, what was once a joyous occasion. So I say lets do something about it. Lets give these people back their days. Let’s do something that has never been done before.

I’m talking about turning the Tower Theatre into a Haunted House.

I have thought about this for a while now. It would be hard work for a little reward. However if you succeed at this turn then you could do it every year. Not saying that this could be an over night success. But it is all there already. The people are down there, even with the cops as forceful as they are, people keep coming down. I have an idea in my head. I mean Lights, Smoke, Freaks and Ghouls. Fire breathing Monsters and Knife Juggling Zombies.
The premise of a Haunted House is the fact that people love to get scared. We go to the Movies. We go on Roller Coasters. Some people even jump out of perfectly good planes. Just for that rush. I know that when people get into a relationship, it is the funniest thing to hide around a corner and Scare the Jeebies out of your partner. People Pay to get Scared.
I originally thought of Halloween night. One Night, One Fright. But as I write this I think why not for a week. You set up for one week and the Final Fright Night you show a midnight movie. Vampires and Goblins. The only way we will be successful is to get the Community involved. The Heart of The Tower has always been the People. The People can make or break you in the Tower. But what if you give them something New.
The key word for me on this is Volunteers. I have many Friends and Family in Show Biz. I feel the hardest part getting the People involved. I have a rough idea of the cast and crew. The Set as it were will consist of Pipe and Drape, Lights, Smoke Machines, Costumes, and many more to be discuss.
I feel we could really be on to something here and who knows we could be on the path to reinventing the Tower District.

I hope I have your support with this
Jeph Neville

Thats all.